SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND PHOTOCATALYTIC ACTIVITY OF Mn-Fe CODOPED CdS NANOCOMPOSITE ON THE DEGRADATION OF METHYLENE BLUE UNDER VISIBLE LIGHT IRRADIATION

Abstract

Undoped and Fe-Mn codoped CdS nanoparticles have been synthesized via precipitation method. The nanostructures of the prepared undoped and Fe-Mn codoped CdS nanoparticles have been confirmed using UV/Vis absorption and X-ray diffraction analysis. The UV/Visible spectroscopy studies showed that the absorption peak for Fe-Mn codopedCdS has undergone a red shift toward visible wavelengths compared with the CdS nanoparticles. Photocatalytic efficiency of Fe-Mn codopedCdS nanoparticle was investigated for the degradation of MB under visible light irradiation. The results showed that Fe-Mn codopedCdS nanoparticles have exhibited greater photocatalytic activity when compared with the undoped CdS nanoparticle under visible light irradiation. According to these results, application of Fe-Mn on the surface of CdS nanoparticles has caused enhanced photocatalytic activity owing to its greater degradation efficiency. The reduction in absorbance of dye suggests that the dye molecules were mineralized along with color removal. According to these result, oxidation of the MB consumes photo-generated holes and/or • OH radicals efficiently, blocking the electron-hole recombination and thus, increasing the total efficiency. Influences of some operational parameters such as: amount of photocatalyst, pH of solution, and MB initial concentration on the photodegradation reaction rate were investigated. The optimum values of pH and catalyst dose were found to be 4 and 150 mg/L, respectively for MB intial concentration of10 mg/L. CdS,doping,dye,nanoparticle,Photocatalyst,VisibleLight,andXRD