Superhydrophobic CdS–melamine elastomer catalyst design with evaluation of its pollutant degradation performance under visible light

Sewage not only contains water-soluble contaminants but water-insoluble contaminants as well. Superhydrophobic CdS–melamine foam prepared in this research satisfies the requirements of water purification. The photocatalyst CdS effectively adsorbs light energy to generate active species (⋅O 2 − ) for degrading water-soluble pollutants. At the same time, superhydrophobic/superoleophilic characteristic of the melamine sponge can be utilized to remove water-insoluble pollutants. Finally, the degradation mechanism of materials was obtained by studying the parameters such as band gap and valence band structure, as well as by analyzing the experimental data of active species.