Cadmium sulphide nanorods: Synthesis, characterization and their photocatalytic activity

Abstract

Cadmium sulphide (CdS) nanorods were prepared by a single precursor thermal decomposition (SPTD) method. The formation of CdS nanorods and their structure, morphology and elemental composition were studied by means of FT-IR, XRD, FE-SEM, HR-TEM and EDAX analysis. Photoluminescence (PL) and lifetime measurements were recorded to study the luminescence properties of the material. The PL spectrum of the CdS nanorods showed one broad peak and four shoulders and the cause for this emission was discussed. The PL emissions from the band edge and deep trap state of the CdS nanorods were studied by lifetime measurements. Further, the synthesized CdS nanorods showed an increase in efficiency of photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB). The increase in the photocatalytic activity was attributed to the mixed phase of the CdS nanorods.