CdS Hierarchical Nanostructures with Tunable Morphologies: Preparation and Photocatalytic Properties

CdS, an important II-VI semiconductor, has been extensively studied in the areas of structure engineering and photocatalytic properties related to structure and morphology. In this study, by means of a facile L-cysteine and ethanolamine (EA)-synergistically assisted hydrothermal route, CdS with various novel nanostructures has been prepared on a large scale in a water/EA binary solution. With a focus on the regulation of structure, the formation process of nanofans by self-assembly of nanorod bundles was followed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). On the basis of our experimental results, the consecutive processes of L-cysteine and EA-synergistically assisted nucleation growth, oriented assembly, and sphere-cracking were proposed to explain the growth mechanism. More importantly, CdS nanostructures have been confirnied to possess extraordinary photocatalytic activity for the photodegradation of rhodamine B (RhB) compared to that of TiO(2) nanoparticles, which could result from their higher surface area, smaller crystal size, and higher crystallinity of the CdS nanostructures. The present work demonstrates the solvothennal route to be facile, inexpensive, and versatile, which favors scaled-up industrial applications and sheds new light on the synthesis and self-assembly of functional materials.