Enhanced visible-light photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange by BiPO4–CdS composites synthesized using a microwave-assisted method

Abstract

BiPO₄–CdS composites consisting of BiPO₄ nanorods and CdS nanoparticles were successfully synthesized via a microwave-assisted reaction. The photocatalytic performance of the BiPO₄–CdS composites, with different proportions of CdS, in the degradation of methyl orange under visible light irradiation was investigated. The results show that the BiPO₄–CdS composite with 30.1 wt% CdS achieves a better performance with a maximum degradation rate of 98.1% as compared with pure BiPO₄ due to the increase of specific surface area for more adsorbed MO, the enhancement of light absorption and the reduction of carrier recombination.