Role of Sm dopant on structural, optical and efficient visible light photocatalytic performance of CdS nanoparticles by using simple wet chemical route

Abstract

The present work reported the samarium (Sm) doped CdS nanostructures synthesized via using co-precipitation method from cadmium and sulphide particle arrangements with no ligands at different temperature arrangement and amalgamation time. Structural, compositional, valance state and optical properties of the prepared samples were investigated using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM/EDS mapping), X-ray photoelectron, Fourier transform infrared red, UV–Vis absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopes. XRD and TEM results suggest that Sm doped CdS samples were cubic structure with spherical shaped morphology with average diameter of around 14–28 nm. The prepared Sm doped CdS nanoparticles showed the superior photocatalytic activity for the degradation of RhB under visible light (λ > 420 nm) irradiation, and 15 mol% Sm-doped CdS was found to be highly efficient for organic pollutants RhB and MB removal. Moreover, this catalyst showed improved stability, and the activity did not decrease significantly after seven recycles. This could be attributed to creation of electron–hole pairs and inhibit their recombination process by Sm doping. The improved mechanism by Sm doping is also discussed in detail.