Evolution of hierarchical hexagonal stacked plates of CuS from liquid-liquid interface and its photocatalytic application for oxidative degradation of different dyes under indoor lighting.

Blue solution of copper(II) acetylacetonate complex, [Cu(acac)(2)] in dichloromethane (DCM) and an aqueous alkaline solution of thioacetamide (TAA) constitute a biphasic system. The system in a screw cap test tube under a modified hydrothermal (MHT) reaction condition produces a greenish black solid at the liquid-liquid interface. It has been characterized that the solid mass is an assembly of hexagonal copper sulfide (CuS) nanoplates representing a hierarchical structure. The as-synthesized CuS nanoplates are well characterized by several physical techniques. An ethanolic dispersion of CuS presents a high band gap energy (2.2 eV) which assists visible light photocatalytic mineralization of different dye molecules. Thus a cleanup measure of dye contaminated water body even under indoor light comes true.