The synthesis of CdS/TiO2 hetero-nanofibers with enhanced visible photocatalytic activity

In this paper, CdS/TiO2 heteronanofibers have been prepared for the photocatalysis toward organic dyes under visible irradiation. Firstly, the one dimensional (1D) TiO2 porous nanofibers (50-100) nm in diameter and several micrometers in length were synthesized by electrospinning and then CdS nanopaticles (50-100 nm in size) successfully grown onto TiO2 fibers to form the heterostructure. These CdS/TiO2 heteronanofibers were adopted as photocatalyst and the photocatalsis processes were analyzed in detail, showing the enhanced visible photodecomposition and good recycle ability. Furthermore, the degradation kinetics was further investigated by varying the amount of CdS. The increase of CdS component may enhance the degradation rate under visible light, but the total degradation efficiency also is affected by the adsorption capacity of catalyst toward the dyes. With the improved visible light degradation performance, these CdS/TiO2 heteronanofibers would be expected to be used in water purification. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.