Synthesis and characterization of cadmium-bismuth microspheres for the catalytic and photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants, with antibacterial, antioxidant and cytotoxicity assay

Abstract

Cadmium-Bismuth microspheres (CdS-Bi2S3) were prepared by facile solvothermal method with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) employed to control the morphology of CdS-Bi2S3. The product was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), diffuse reflectance UV–vis spectrophotometer and surface area of CdS-Bi2S3 was determined by BET analyzer. It was observed that CdS-Bi2S3 spheres exhibited good catalytic activity for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. The photocatalytic application of CdS-Bi2S3 was evaluated for the photocatalytic degradation of environmental pollutants such as methyl orange, and methyl green under UV–visible light irradiation and it demonstrated good photocatalytic activity. Furthermore, we studied the antioxidant activity of CdS-Bi2S3 and it was observed that CdS-Bi2S3 showed antioxidant activity at all tested concentrations (5, 3 and 1 mg/mL). Antimicrobial activity of CdS-Bi2S3 microspheres was also studied for microbial control and the tested nanospheres proved to be exceptional antibacterial agent against tested Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. CdS-Bi2S3 microspheres also exhibited significant cytotoxicity activity against HCT 116 (Human colon colorectal tumor) cell line. Our results indicate that CdS-Bi2S3 is good photocatalyst with several biological activities. The effective preparation method of CdS-Bi2S3 could be useful to design and fabricate the novel photocatalyst which may have several applications in the field of catalysis and in the medicine.