Fabrication of floating CdS/EP photocatalyst by facile liquid phase deposition for highly efficient degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation

The cadmium sulfide (CdS) faces photochemical corrosion, and hence, the photocatalytic efficacy decreases with the light-irradiation time. The deposition of suitable content of CdS on the expanded perlite (EP) may prevent the photochemical corrosion and aggregation of CdS nanoparticles. Hence, a series of solid nanocomposites containing CdS nanoparticles on the EP support with different CdS contents were synthesized. CdS/EP buoyant nanocomposites have been successfully prepared by deposition of CdS on the EP using a simple one-step facile liquid phase deposition route at ambient temperature. The as-prepared nanocomposites were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM, HRTEM), UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and FT-IR spectroscopy. The XRD and HRTEM results indicated the formation of CdS nanoparticles with the hexagonal cubic phase in the EP. The SEM, TEM and HRTEM results clearly show that CdS nanoparticles have homogenously embedded in the mesopores of EP supports. The photocatalytic activities of CdS/EP nanocomposites with varying CdS contents were examined for the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye under visible light irradiation. Hence, these results reveal that enhanced catalytic activity arises in novel CdS/EP nanocomposites and significantly, its photocatalytic activity is about two times higher than that of bare CdS. This advanced nanocomposite is expected to provide a new appreciation into the design of floating photocatalysts with excellent recyclability, high efficiency, and good stability.