Photocatalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol using effective hole scavenger over novel Mg-doped Zn(O,S) nanoparticles

Novel Mg-doped Zn(O,S) nanoparticles were synthesized by a chemical precipitation process at 90   ℃ and the prepared nanoparticles were characterized by XRD, SEM, HRTEM, XPS, UV–vis, DRS, PL, EIS, and photocurrent response. The photocatalytic reduction for the 4-nitrophenol using Na 2 SO 3 under UV light irradiation showed that Mg–Zn(O,S)-2.5 exhibited higher activity compared with other samples. 96.7% of 4-nitrophenolate ion reduced into 4-aminophenol within 45   min. Mg–Zn(O,S)-2.5 was also tested for hydrogen evolution, where the rates of 1035   μmol/g for the 4-NP-free sample and 705   μmol/g for the 4-NP-added one were achieved. Finally, the stability and reaction mechanism was mentioned.