Sonocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B in the presence of C 60 and CdS coupled TiO 2 particles

Abstract

CdS-TiO 2 and CdS-C 60/TiO 2 were prepared using C 60, cadmium acetate dehydrate [(CH 3COO) 2Cd·2H 2O], sodium sulfide (Na 2S·5H 2O) and titanium (IV) n-butoxide by a sol–gel method. The prepared sonocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A rhodamine B (RhB) solution under ultrasonic irradiation was used to determine the catalytic activity. Excellent catalytic degradation of an RhB solution was observed using the CdS-C 60/TiO 2 composites under ultrasonic irradiation. C 60 coupled CdS-TiO 2 can enhance the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area and increase the decolorization rate for rhodamine B solution. The results also shows that increase the content of CdS can enhance the catalytic activity.