Bi4Ti3O12/CdS Nanocomposites Enhance the Photocatalytic Degradation Performance

Abstract

Semiconductor materials used in the field of photocatalysis have been attracting much attention. Due to the advantages of green, pollution-free and sustainable development of solar energy, it is an ideal strategy to explore excellent semiconductor materials as high light photocatalysts for energy conversion. Herein, Bi4Ti3O[Formula: see text]/CdS composites were synthetized by coprecipitation method, which CdS particles selectively deposited on Bi4Ti3O[Formula: see text] nanosheets. The phase structure and optical properties of the samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, N2 adsorption–desorption and UV-visible diffuse spectra (UV-DRS). The results showed that the Bi4Ti3O[Formula: see text]/CdS composites had the highest photocatalytic activity against RhB under visible light, and the degradation rate of RhB was 98.8% after 120[Formula: see text]min of simulated light, 2.14 times that of pure Bi4Ti3O[Formula: see text], and the Bi4Ti3O[Formula: see text]/CdS-10[Formula: see text]wt.% composites also showed good stability. UV-DRS demonstrated that the optical absorption range of the composite extends to visible regions, and photocurrent tests also showed that the composite enhances the separation and migration of photoogenic electron–hole pairs, mainly due to the formation of 2D nanosheets/0D particles heterojunctions between the bronzn CdS of the perovskite BTO and hexagonal fibers. Furthermore, free radical assays confirmed that both [Formula: see text]O[Formula: see text], h[Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]OH have effects in the degradation of RhB, and thus suggested a possible mechanism for the photodegradation process of the Bi4Ti3O[Formula: see text]/CdS-10[Formula: see text]wt.% composite photocatalyst.