Probing the effect of divalent transition metals (Mn, Fe, co & Ni) dopants on ZnS nanoparticles with the enhanced photocatalytic and magnetic properties

Abstract

Present work discusses the photocatalysis ability of a series of divalent transition metals (DTMs) -doped zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticles. The effect of different DTMs ions on the structural, optical properties were evaluated using various characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), and UV–visible spectroscopy, and their photocatalysis behavior on methylene blue dye was investigated using UV irradiation. All the samples were prepared by microwave assisted synthesis route using citric acid as reducing agent. The analysis of phase and nanostructure confirmed the cubic phase of ZnS nanoparticles, with the particles exhibiting a spherical shape. The ZnS nanoparticles doped with transition metals exhibited a crystallite size that was comparatively smaller when contrasted with pure ZnS. The UV–Visible spectrums revealed that the prepared ZnS nanoparticles confirm the quantum confinement effect by a sharp peak around 415 nm. The photocatalysis degradation of an organic dye such as methylene blue (MB) by the pure and DTM doped ZnS nanoparticles shows that these act as photocatalysis under visible light irradiation. The DTM doped ZnS nanoparticles showed considerably improved photo-degradation of MB. Among these, Fe doped ZnS nanoparticles show the best photo-catalytic candidate as compared to Ni2+/Co2+/Mn2+ doped ZnS nanoparticles. Magnetization study showed enhanced magnetic moment in transition metal doped samples. This makes it a promising candidate for photo-catalysis for the degradation of dyes under visible light for various optoelectronic and dilute magnetic semiconductors devices. © 2026 Elsevier B.V.