Copper sulfide nanotubes: facile, large-scale synthesis, and application in photodegradation

Large-scale synthesis of copper sulfide (CuS) nanotubes with uniform size could be achieved via a facile hydrothermal method. The whole process could be adjusted to prepare CuS with different nanostructures by simply changing the concentration of NaOH or reaction temperature while keeping other conditions unchanged. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy were used to characterize the products. The as-prepared CuS nanotubes showed good photocatalytic activity of degrading eosin Y under UV-vis light irradiation, which indicated the potential application of the CuS nanotubes in eliminating pollution and environmental protection.