Facile Preparation of Cadmium Gallate Nanoparticles as a Novel Photocatalyst with High Efficiency and Stability

Abstract

In this work, we introduced a facile approach for preparing cadmium gallate (CdGa2 O4 nanoparticles, and we first studied the photocatalytic properties of this ternary spinel oxide. Through a solvothermal process for the formation of precursor and the subsequent calcination process for recrystallization, CdGa2 O4 nanoparticles with diameter of ca. 12 nm were synthesized. They were characterized by using X-ray diffraction patterns and electron microscopy images. UV-visible diffuse absorption spectroscopy was also conducted; its spectra indicate that CdGa2 O4 nanoparticles have strong but small blue-shift absorption relative to that of the bulk samples. Moreover, the CdGa2 O4 nanoparticles could photocatalytically decompose rhodamine B (RhB) molecules with high efficiency in aqueous solution under ultraviolet irradiation. Notably, this novel photocatalyst exhibited outstanding recycling stability, and it retained almost the same capacity in the fourth photocatalytic cycle. We deduce that the high photocatalytic performance results from the large specific surface area, energetic photoinduced carriers, and inherent stability.