Synthesis, Characterization, and Investigation of Visible Light Photocatalytic Activity of C Doped TiO2/CdS Core-Shell Nanocomposite

Abstract

Carbon (C) doped TiO2/CdS core-shell nanocomposite (C/TiO2/CdS) was synthesized using microemulsion method. Synthesized powder was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and UV-visible spectrophotometery. TEM images reveal that C/TiO2/CdS core-shell heterostructure is successfully prepared with CdS as a core and C doped TiO2 as a shell. UV-visible absorption spectra show that CdS nanoparticles act as a sensitizer and effectively enhance the photoabsorption capacity of C/TiO2/CdS nanocomposite in visible region. Visible light photocatalytic activity of synthesized nanocomposite was evaluated for the degradation of methylene blue. C/TiO2/CdS core-shell nanocomposite exhibits better photocatalytic activity as compared to bare TiO2, CdS, CdS/TiO2, and C doped TiO2.