Abstract
The construction of CdO-based nano-heterojunction photocatalyst gathers more attention since pure CdO suffers rapid e−/h+ pair recombination rate. In this study, CdO/CeO2 was fabricated by sono-chemical synthesis. HRTEM depicts the decoration of CeO2 on nanoplates like CdO. The crystalline structure of CdO/CeO2 nanocomposites (NCs) with coexistence of CdO and CeO2 was revealed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis. The chemical states of NCs were determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The narrow bandgap of 2.67 eV enhance the visible light photon absorption ability. In accordance with Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis, it is evident that compared to individual particles the prepared NCs have a high surface area of 260.73 m2/g. The type II interface in CdO/CeO2 NCs facilitates e−/h+ pair migration and charge carrier separation. The reduced e−/h+ pair recombination was ensured by photoluminescence analysis. Under visible light, the NCs showed excellent photocatalytic activity compared to individual particles. The particles showed 87.6% degradation of methylene blue (MB) in 180 min. The scavengers study revealed the major role of ·OH and h+ in MB photodegradation. The CdO/CeO2 NCs possessed high stability even after six cycles and XRD of recycled particles confirmed the resistance of NCs towards photo-corrosion. In addition, NCs showed excellent anti-bacterial activity. Finally, it could be suggested that CdO/CeO2 NCs can find potential applications in industrial water treatment processes and in self cleaning materials due to its high stability and active nature.
Published Version
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