Deposition and characterization of ZnO/CdSe/SnSe ternary thin film based photocatalyst for an enhanced visible light-driven photodegradation of model pollutants

A heterogeneous photocatalytic pathway is a possible approach to global energy and environmental issues. Sol-gel spin coating and physical vapour deposition were used to create a new ternary ZnO/CdSe/SnSe nanocomposite thin film photocatalyst. X-ray diffractometry, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), field emission-scanning electron microscopy, UV-Vis, and photoluminescence (PL) spectrophotometers were used to characterize the deposited films. When exposed to solar light, the ternary photocatalyst exhibits high photocatalytic activity in photocatalytic dye degradation processes. it demonstrates excellent visible light absorption, enhanced charge carrier separation, and solar light simulation. It was proposed that the charge in the ternary ZnO/CdSe/SnSe photocatalyst moves in a double type-II and cascade manner between the various components. In this study, ternary thin film heterostructures are synthesized, exhibiting outstanding stability and solar light-induced photocatalytic activity.The thin film composed of ZnO/CdSe/SnSe exhibits a degradation efficiency of 96% when exposed to visible light, and a degradation efficiency of 90% for methylene blue under sunlight within a time period of 150 min. Graphical Abstract Highlights ZnO thin film with a ripple structure is fabricated using the sol-gel spin coating method. The ZnO/CdSe/SnSe heterostructure is fabricated utilising the PVD method. The inclusion of CdSe and SnSe resulted in a decrease in the recombination rate of electron-hole pairs. The ZnO/CdSe/SnSe heterostructure thin film exhibits the most significant photodegradation of dyes.