Solar photocatalytic activity of indium sulfide nanocrystal and degradation of the tetracycline by In2S3

Nanocrystalline -In2S3 was prepared by reacting In(NO3)(3) with thioacetamide through hydrothermal method at 120 degrees C for 12h. The size and morphology of In2S3 photocatalyst were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis. The band gap energy was measured using Kulbeka-Munk function and the electronic state of the prepared In2S3 was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared sample was investigated by the photocatalytic degradation with 20mg/L of the tetracycline (TC) under natural sunlight as a source of irradiation. The results showed that the synthesized In2S3 matches completely with the cubic phase of -In2S3 with a surface area of 95.6726m(2)g(-1), and the photocatalytic activity for the degradation of TC under natural sunlight irradiation was excellent followed with first-order kinetics and the complete removal could be within 30min, which suggests that the prepared photocatalyst has the potential to degrade the antibiotics.