Spray-assisted vapor deposition of CdS nanoparticles on ZnO nanowires with enhanced photocatalytic performance

ZnO nanowires were synthesized by a hydrothermal method, and CdS nanoparticles were deposited on ZnO nanowires by spray-assisted vapor deposition. The SEM image of ZnO nanowires showed their diameter of similar to 100 nm. The TEM image of ZnO/CdS composite showed that the CdS nanoparticles were decorated on the surface of ZnO nanowires. The crystallization of CdS, ZnO and ZnO/CdS was determined by XRD. The photocatalytic performance of CdS, ZnO and ZnO/CdS was investigated by degrading Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation. The results showed that the ZnO/CdS composite showed a higher catalytic performance than single phase CdS or ZnO under the same reaction condition. The stability of ZnO/CdS composite was investigated by running RhB degradation reaction in 10 cycles, which showed that ZnO/CdS composite had a high stability over photocorrosion. The mechanism for the enhanced photocatalytic performance in ZnO/CdS composite was also explained.