Preparation of Adsorbents Containing CdS Quantum Dots from the Orange Peel for the Sewage Treatment

Abstract

Photocatalytic degradation of pollutants using the semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) can be applied to water treatment processes. In this paper, first, the orange peel (OP) and the activated carbon (AC) were prepared from the orange peel wastes. Second, CdS quantum dot loaded adsorbents were prepared from these adsorbents and they were labelled as CdS@OP and CdS@AC, respectively. This new photocatalyst was characterized by means of FT-IR, FESEM and UV-Vis. Then, the adsorption properties of these prepared adsorbents for the removal of alizarin, as an organic pollutant, were studied and AC was selected as a better adsorbent for this purpose. Afterward, the photocatalytic properties of these adsorbents were also studied for the degradation of alizarin, under the sunlight irradiation. A factorial design method was used to achieve the optimal condition and the best photocatalyst was selected. Finally, CdS@AC nanocomposite was selected as a more effective photocatalyst with the degradation efficiency of 82% of dye solution, under 2h sunlight irradiation.