Hydrothermal Carbonation Carbon-Coated CdS Nanocomposite with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity and Stability

Herein, a novel CdS nanocomposite is fabricated by a facile one-pot hydrothermal method assisted by glucose and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The as-prepared CdS is coated with a thin layer, which is determined to be hydrothermal carbonation carbon (HTCC) mainly containing semiconductive polyfuran. The as-prepared HTCC-coated CdS shows superior photocatalytic activity for the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation (λ ≥ 420 nm). The optimum sample (glucose content of 0.1 g) shows a degradation rate four-times that of pure CdS reference. Moreover, it also shows an improved stability, and the activity can be maintained at 96.2% after three cycles of recycling. The enhanced photocatalytic activity and stability of nanocomposite can mainly be attributed to: (i) The addition of PVP in the reaction solution can significantly increase the specific surface area of CdS and thus offer more active sites; (ii) The HTCC in the nanocomposite can expand the range of light absorption; (iii) The HTCC layer can form a heterojunction with CdS and improve the charge separation and transfer.