ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mater.
Sec. Colloidal Materials and Interfaces
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvancements in Sustainable Nanotechnology, Environment, and EnergyView all 4 articles
Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Toxic Insecticide Thiamethoxam using Ni-Doped PbS Nanoparticles under Visible Light Irradiation
Provisionally accepted
- 1Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, India
- 2Alexander Dubcek University in Trencin, Trenčín, Slovakia
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The widespread use of the toxic insecticide Thiamethoxam (TMX) poses significant risks to environmental and human health, necessitating effective remediation methods. This study reports the successful synthesis of novel Nickel-doped Lead Sulfide (Ni-PbS) nanoparticles via a straightforward co-precipitation approach for the visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of TMX. Structural analysis confirmed that the Ni-PbS nanoparticles crystallize in a face-centred cubic structure. Morphological examination revealed a flower-like architecture composed of nanosheets. Optical studies showed a narrowed band gap of 2.2 eV, confirming visible-light responsiveness. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) further verified the presence of Pb²⁺, S²⁻, and the successful incorporation of Ni²⁺ into the PbS lattice. The Ni-PbS catalyst demonstrated significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity, achieving 78.93% TMX degradation within 210 min with a rate constant of 0.02225 min⁻¹. Optimal performance was observed at pH 3 and a catalyst loading of 0.5 g/L. The catalyst also exhibited excellent stability and reusability over five consecutive cycles. Scavenger studies revealed that valence band holes (h⁺) and hydroxyl radicals (•OH) were the dominant reactive species driving the degradation. Overall, this work highlights Ni-PbS as a robust and efficient photocatalyst for the remediation of water contaminated with neonicotinoid insecticides.
Keywords: PBS, Ni doping, photocatalysis, visible light, insecticide
Received: 31 Jul 2025; Accepted: 29 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Farooqa, Singh, Singh and MEHTA. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: AKANSHA MEHTA, akansha.akansha@tnuni.sk
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