One-step hydrothermal fabrication and enhancement of the photocatalytic performance of CdMoO4/CdS hybrid materials

Abstract

A series of CdMoO₄/CdS hybrid composites were synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal method. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman and UV-vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activities of the CdMoO₄/CdS hybrid materials compared with CdMoO₄ microspheres and dendritic CdS nanostructures were evaluated by rhodamine B (RhB) decomposition under sunlight irradiation. The results revealed that the as-prepared CdMoO₄/CdS hybrid composites showed superior photocatalytic activities for the degradation of RhB under sunlight irradiation, especially compared with dendritic CdS decorated with 22% CdMoO₄ microspheres. The superior photodegradation performance of the as-prepared CdMoO₄/CdS hybrid composites can be ascribed to the presence of CdMoO₄ as an electron acceptor which improves the effective charge separation in CdS.