Sustainable visible light photocatalytic scavenging of the noxious organic pollutant using recyclable and reusable polyaniline coupled WO3/WS2 nanohybrid

Sustainable technology needs to be developed for tackling the critical environmental issues for viable development. The utilization of the natural visible light mediated photocatalysis for the decontamination of noxious chlorophenols could be an alternate method for wastewater purification. This work is focused on the fabrication of tungsten oxide (WO3)/disulfide (WS2) coupled polyaniline (PANI) (WO3/WS2/PANI) heterojunction nanohybrid photocatalyst for 2-chlorophenol (2-CP) decomposition in water. WO3/WS2/PANI nanohybrid photocatalyst was prepared via hydrothermal method using the L-Cysteine as a sulfurization agent. The bare WO3 and WO3/WS2 hybrid, WO3/WS2/PANI nanohybrid were characterized via UV–visible, photoluminescence, SEM, XRD, and XPS analysis methods. The coupling of PANI with WO3/WS2 created a synergistic effect on photocatalytic properties due to its better light-harvesting properties, and band gap energy suppression. Results discovered that the photocatalysis of 2-CP by the WO3/WS2/PANI is dependent on irradiation time, pH, and 2-CP concentration. The photocatalytic degradation increased from 83% to 100% with the decrease in initial 2-CP conc. from 50 mg/L to 10 mg/L. The photocatalytic degradation mechanism revealed that •O2−, •OH, and h+ reactive species are accountable for the decomposition of 2-CP by WO3/WS2/PANI nanohybrid and kinetic data was better fitted with the first-order kinetic model. The fabricated WO3/WS2/PANI catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic activity and reusability after five cycles, offering an active process for the degradation of toxic organic pollutants under visible light and sustainable technology for water remediation. •A recyclable WO3/WS2/PANI heterojunctions photocatalyst was fabricated.•WO3/WS2/PANI nanohybrid exhibited superior photocatalytic activity for 2-chlorophenol.•Formation of multiple heterojunctions improved the separation of charge carriers.•This study enlightened the idea of hybrid catalyst fabrication by combination of organic and inorganic semiconductors.