Facile synthesis of CeO2 nanoparticle sensitized CdS nanorod photocatalyst with improved visible-light photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B

Abstract

A heterostructure photocatalyst consisting of one-dimensional (1D) CdS nanorods (NRs) and cerium dioxide (CeO₂) nanoparticles (NPs) was successfully synthesized via a solvothermal method. Different characterization techniques confirmed that CeO₂ NPs were intimately attached on CdS NRs. The visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the discoloration of rhodamine B (RhB). It was indicated that, under visible light illumination, the photocatalytic rate constant of CdS/CeO₂ was nearly 3.4 times and 28 times higher than that of pure CdS and pure CeO₂, respectively, owing to the high oxygen storage capacity of the CdS/CeO₂ heterostructure, and the inhibition of electron–hole pair recombination benefitting from efficient electron transfer from CdS NRs to CeO₂ NPs. In addition, the degradation mechanism of RhB on CdS/CeO₂ was also discussed. This durable nanocomposite catalyst, with its excellent combination of CdS NRs and CeO₂ NPs, is able to be a promising catalyst for RhB degradation under visible-light irradiation.