Construction of a S-scheme CdS/CuFe 2 O 4 heterojunction with suppressed charge recombination for enhanced visible light-driven photocatalytic activity

• Published in: New journal of chemistry 2023-03, Vol.47 (11), p.5431-5440
• Main Authors: Akshhayya, C., Ansari, Mohammad Omaish, Janani, B., Subhiksha, V., Melaibari, Ammar A., Hasan, P. M. Z., Asad, Mohammad, Sudheer Khan, S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1144-0546; 1369-9261
• DOI: 10.1039/D2NJ05616J

Effective interfacial engineering to fabricate a suitable nano-photocatalyst for environmental remediation is on high demand. A magnetic nanocomposite is a potential candidate for reusability and recovery from treated wastewater. CuFe 2 O 4 /CdS nanoclusters (NCs) were fabricated using a chemical co-precipitation method. SEM and TEM images of the fabricated NCs revealed coral-like agglomerations and polycrystalline nature of NCs with clear lattice fringes. XPS and EDAX were performed for elemental analysis. The apparent photodegradation rate of dye by NCs is two-fold higher compared to that of pure CdS and CuFe 2 O 4 . The S-scheme interface retained both strong potential e − /h + for ˙OH and ˙O 2 − production under visible light illumination. A 97.71% photocatalytic efficiency was retained after six cycles of reuse. This enhancement in the photocatalytic performance of NCs demonstrates their excellent potential to behave as environmental remediating agents.