Controllable synthesis of nanostructured flower-like cadmium sulfides for photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange under different light sources

This study focuses on the synthesis and characterization of cadmium sulfide nanostructures by coprecipitation method. The materials are characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared, and Raman spectroscopy. The bandgap of the nanostructures was calculated under different conditions ranged between 2.8 and 2.4 eV and the materials have flower-like morphology in a cubic crystal system. Photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange dye was investigated under different radiation sources (sunlight, ultraviolet light, xenon light, and sunlight simulator). The effect of pH, initial dye concentration, and photocatalyst concentration on dye degradation was examined to show good degradation performance upon exposure to sunlight, UV light and visible light radiation. The results showed that by reducing the pH, degradation was improved, showing good performance at pH 3 with 85 % within 90 min. In addition, the optimal conditions for dye degradation were observed at concentration of 10 mg, methyl orange dye initial concentration of 10 g/L, and pH of 3. A 100 % degradation of methyl orange dye occurred in 90 min of visible light radiation, suggesting the potentiality of cadmium sulfide nanostructures under the effect of UV irradiation for cleaner production and complete elimination of the dye from polluted water sources, thus contributing to environmental enhancement.