Materials Chemistry and Physics 242 (2020) 122408 Available online 7 November 2019 0254-0584/© 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Catalytic and photocatalytic effcacy of hexagonal CuS nanoplates derived from copper(II) dithiocarbamate Noor ul Ain a , Zia-ur-Rehman a, * , Asma Aamir a , Yaqoob Khan b , Muneeb-ur Rehman c , Dan-Jae Lin d a Department of Chemistry Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan b Nanosciences and Technology Department, National Centre for Physics, Quaid-i-Azam University CampusIslamabad, 45320, Pakistan c Department of Physics, Islamia College, Peshawar, 25120, KP, Pakistan d School of Dentistry, China Medical University No.91 Hsueh-Shih Road, Taichung, 40402, Taiwan, ROC HIGHLIGHTS G R A P H I C A L ABSTRACT � CuS NPs synthesis from a new copper(II) dithiocarbamate precursor. � Catalytic and photocatalytic application for CR degradation. � High effcacy of CuS NPs than the similar reported NPs. A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Copper sulfde NPs Thermolysis 100 % CR degradation mechanism Catalyst and photocatalyst ABSTRACT Hexagonal shaped CuS nanoplates (NPs) exhibiting catalytic and photocatalytic properties were synthesized from a single source precursor using octylamine as a decomposing solvent. The structure, phase purity, composition and optical studies of these nanoplates were carried out by UV–Vis, XRD, EDS, TEM, HRTEM and SAED. These nanoplates were found to have high crystallinity (SAED), average particle size of 35.39 nm (TEM) and band gap of 2.1 eV (UV–Vis). To the best of our knowledge, this is the frst report on dual role of CuS nanoplates as catalyst and photocatalyst for the degradation of Congo Red (CR), an environmental pollutant, both in dark and solar light. Based upon degradation results, mechanism of degradation was proposed. The reaction was found to follow pseudo-frst-order kinetics according to Langmuir–Hinshelwood (L–H) model both in dark and light. Moreover, no change in the XRD pattern after dye degradation study signifed the recyclable nature of CuS NPs. 1. Introduction The overall annual production of synthetic dyes is more than seven thousand tons [1]. Only through textile waste effuents, around 15% of these non-biodegradable dyes are discharged per annum into natural streams and water bodies [2,3]. The presences of these highly colored dyes are not only aesthetically displeasing, but also have a negative impact on biological process within a stream by impeding light * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: zrehman@qau.edu.pk, hafzqau@yahoo.com (Zia-ur-Rehman). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Materials Chemistry and Physics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matchemphys https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2019.122408 Received 1 August 2016; Received in revised form 10 September 2019; Accepted 3 November 2019