CdO Nanostructures: Synthesis, Characterization, and Photocatalytic Degradation of Malachite Green Dye in Aqueous Media

Abstract

Cadmium oxide (CdO) nanoparticles were prepared by using co-precipitation method and applied on photodegradation of malachite green (MG) dye in an aqueous solution. The as-prepared CdO nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and (SAED), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) techniques. The XRD pattern confirmed the formation of crystalline CdO nanoparticles with cubic structure while the FESEM image validated the preparation of disc-like spherical irregular shape nanostructures agglomerated with the size of 10-30 nm. The as- prepared CdO nanoparticles exhibited 98 % photodegradation efficiency against the MG dye in 165 min of visible light irradiation at 0.05 g of dose. The experimental data has followed the pseudo-first-order kinetic model, and the rate constant value obtained is 0.002 min-1. Thus, the synthesized CdO nanoparticles degraded MG dye effectively and may be used for environmental remediation purposes.