Excellent visible-light photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of tetracycline antibiotic and electrochemical sensing of hydrazine by SnO2–CdS nanostructures

Abstract

The present study investigated a tin oxide/cadmium sulfide (SnO2–CdS) nanostructure for enhancing the photocatalytic efficiency of CdS nanoparticles. Herein, the desired nanostructure was fabricated through a straightforward and cost-effective approach. The physicochemical properties of the fabricated nanostructure were analyzed by various characterization techniques. The SnO2–CdS shows an excellent band-gap of 2.14 eV, a high surface area of 29 m2/g, and favorable photoluminescence properties. The examination of the degradation capabilities of SnO2–CdS nanostructures (SOCdS) with visible light was conducted using tetracycline hydrochloride (TC), methylene blue (MB), and Congo red (CR) as models of antibiotic and dye pollutants. The photocatalyst possessed a TC removal efficiency of 94.5 ± 0.02% in 60 minutes under visible-light irradiation with over 60 ± 0.06% adsorption of TC under equilibrium conditions. Further, the photocatalysts exhibited excellent performance for MB and CR degradation with degradation effectiveness of 99.08 ± 0.01% in 120 min and 83 ± 0.06% in 40 min, respectively. In addition, the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was modified with SOCdS (SOCdS/GCE) and was employed for the efficient and precise detection of hydrazine at room temperature. The SOCdS/GCE showed first-rate response for the recognition of hydrazine: CV: LOD of 0.18 μM, 8 μM–50 μM linear range, and 25.7 μA μM−1 cm−2 of sensitivity; and LSV: LOD of 0.19 μM, 5 μM–50 μM linear range, and 23.6 μA μM−1 cm−2 of sensitivity. Results suggest that the SnO2–CdS nanostructure showed excellent photocatalytic activity than bare-CdS NPs and has the ability to detect the analyte viz. hydrazine. The role of CdS nanoparticles is interesting to enhance the photocatalytic and electrochemical properties. We report a straightforward and cost-effective fabrication approach for SnO2–CdS nanostructure and provide a robust platform for the utilization of chalcogenides-based systems for environmental remediation and detection of hazardous chemicals.