One-step environment-friendly synthesized semiconductor ZnS/OE-PE: Solar light assisted evaluation of antibiotic degradation, Pt-free hydrogen production, and antibacterial assessment

The contamination of water resources by pharmaceutical pollutants, such as tetracycline, positions a significant environmental and health concern. Photocatalytic degradation using semiconductor materials has emerged as a promising method to address this challenge. The primary objective of this study is to synthesize zinc-sulfide nanoparticles from a green source (methanolic plant extract of oxystelma esculentum) and investigate their efficiency in tetracycline degradation, hydrogen production, and antibacterial efficacy. The systematic spectroscopic characterizations of the nanoparticles were carried out using several state-of-the-art analytical measurements, such as UV–Vis spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy, Transmission electron microscopy, Dynamic light scattering, Zeta potential, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In the photocatalytic degradation experiments of tetracycline, the prepared ZnS nanoparticles exhibited exceptional activity, achieving a remarkable degradation efficiency of 97 % within only 30 min. Moreover, the prepared photocatalyst was examined for its potential to produce hydrogen by photocatalytic water splitting. Prepared nanoparticles exhibited an amount of 18.59 mmol g⁻¹h⁻¹, indicating the befitting potential of the synthesized photocatalyst for H₂ production for consecutive 6 cycles. Finally, the prepared nanoparticles were examined for their antibacterial potential against H1(klebsiella), 38(Bacillus), and E.coli. The observed inhibition values were 6 and 8 nm, respectively, against H1(klebsiella) and 38(Bacillus).