Water induced size and structure phase transition of CdS crystals and their photocatalytic property

Abstract

Single-crystalline CdS microwires (mixed cubic and hexagonal phase) and nanorods (pure hexagonal phase) were synthesized by a modified composite-hydroxide-mediated (CHM) approach. Photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B with the CdS nanorods was studied under the simulated sunlight irradiation. Crystalline phase transition from cubic to hexagonal phase was achieved by adding a small amount of water in the melts. The phase structures and morphologies of the prepared products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area of electron diffraction (SAED) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The results show that the pure hexagonal phase structure could be obtained with 5mL or more than 5mL water added in the composite-hydroxide melts. The band–gap of the hexagonal nanorods was 2.435eV observed from UV–vis reflection spectrum. Compared with the CdS nanoparticles (mixed cubic and hexagonal phase), we found that the hexagonal phase structure CdS nanorods revealed much better photocatalytic activity owing to the exposure of (0001) polar facet on the end. It is expected that the present research may offer useful guidance to the potential application of CdS in the treatment of environmental pollution.