ZnTe/ZnSe heterostructures: In-situ synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic activity for Congo Red degradation

Recently, there is growing concern over environmental pollution rising specifically from the water contamination due to industrial wastes that primarily comprise of organic dyes such as the Congo Red (CR) dye. On the other hand, semiconductors based nanomaterials have proven to be a powerful remediation tool for the polluted environment. Here in, we report an in situ approach for the development of strong interface via one pot hydrothermal synthesis of ZnTe/ZnSe heterostructures by precisely adjusting the chalcogens (Te/Se) concentration. The as-synthesized photocatalysts have further been characterized via various analytical techniques including X-ray diffraction for the phase confirmation, scanning electron microscopy together with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy for the morphological as well compositional analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy along with UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy to plot the alignment of energy levels. Finally, the synthesized heterostructures have been employed as potential photocatalysts for the UV–visible induced degradation of the CR dye. The results reveal remarkable efficacy where heterostructured photocatalysts exhibit enhanced degradation efficiency for up to ~ 94% in 65 min. The synergy between the individual counterparts in heterostructure i.e. ZnTe and ZnSe, via the formation of a strong interface plays a significant role in photocatalytic CR fixation by suppressing the charge recombination which is also the key issue in these semiconductor nanomaterials.