Advantageous development of PbS/ZnS nanocomposite photocatalysts from underutilized ionic precursors of solar paints

• Underutilized precursors of p-SILAR process are salvaged successfully. • Precisely, PbS, ZnS NPs and PbS/ZnS NCs are developed. • PbS/ZnS NCs are newly recovered from underutilized ionic precursors. • PbS/ZnS NCs performed superior than PbS and ZnS both. • Detailed photocatalytic and electrocatalytic performance is discussed. Under-utilized ionic precursors of successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) processes have been used to develop nanoscale metal chalcogenide particles previously. In this work, we have modified the salvaging approach to produce the nanocomposites (NCs) of PbS and ZnS, strategically named as PbS/ZnS (NC-1) and PbS/ZnS (NC-2), owing to the stoichiometric difference evolved between them during the salvaging methods. The PbS/ZnS NCs offered superior optical, electronic, and electrochemical characteristics than PbS and ZnS individually. PbS/ZnS (NC-1) exhibited enhanced light absorbance as revealed by UV–Vis spectroscopy and thus a better electrochemical current density-relevant behavior (as a function of Potential Vs RHE). As indicated by EIS, PbS/ZnS (NC-2) possessed an appreciable tendency to govern the degradation of toxic Rhodamine B (RhB) dye under solar light having UV and Visible range of radiation concomitantly. The dye degradation results showed a significant increase in the dye degradation rate up to 65% for PbS/ZnS for NC-1 and 85% for PbS/ZnS NC-2. Inventively developed PbS/ZnS NCs from under-utilized (waste) ionic precursors of SILAR were also analyzed in-depth using SEM, EDS, EIS, XRD, etc., to widen the scope of the work which suggests that simple modifications in the salvaging approach can facilitate the development of more versatile NCs of metal chalcogenides simplistically and proficiently from the underutilized ionic precursors used in the development of solar paints via SILAR.