Construction of hybrid Z-scheme Pt/CdS-TNTAs with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic performance

Hybrid Z-scheme Pt/CdS-TNTAs nanostructures have been successfully fabricated through a simple route. Pt and CdS quantum dots (QDs) are homogeneously dispersed along the channels of TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNTAs) and contact with TiO2 support in a triangle form. Pt/CdS-TNTAs hybrid structure extends absorption into the visible-light region and presents enhanced activity of photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B under visible light, which is ascribed to the effective vectorial electron transfer of CdS -> TiO2 -> Pt. It is proposed that superoxide and hydroxyl radicals should be the main active species in the photocatalytic reaction. Furthermore, the prepared catalyst has another advantage of easy recycling compared with the powder one. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.