Calcination tuned structural, optical and dielectric properties of wet chemically synthesised cadmium tungstate nanoparticles for photocatalytic and photodetector applications

Abstract

In this study, we report the effect of calcination temperature on the optimization of the structural, morphological, optical and dielectric properties of cadmium tungstate (CdWO₄) nanoparticles and their efficiency for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye. CdWO₄ nanoparticles are synthesized by a wet chemical method and calcinated at 400 °C, 600 °C and 800 °C. Upon increasing the calcination temperature, the crystallite size increases, the optical bandgap decreases and the dielectric constant increases. The photocatalytic efficiency of high calcined nanoparticles demonstrates a significant enhancement of dye degradation under UV light. The sample calcinated at 800 °C shows better efficiency for degradation and has high-rate constant. The findings of the study highlight calcination as an effective strategy for tailoring the properties of CdWO₄ nanoparticles for environmental and protective applications.