In-situ constructing visible light CdS/Cd-MOF photocatalyst with enhanced photodegradation of methylene blue

Based on high specific surface area, high porosity of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and excellent visible light response of CdS, the CdS/Cd-MOF nanocomposites were constructed by in-situ sulfurization to form CdS using Cd-MOF as precursor and the CdS loading was controlled by the dose of thioacetamide. Under the irradiation of simulated sunlight, the degradation rate of methylene blue (MB) by 10 mg MOF/CdS-6 (mass ratio of MOF to thioacetamide is 6:1) was 91.9% in 100 min, which was higher than that of pure Cd-MOF (62.3%) and pure CdS (67.5%). This is attributed to the larger specific surface area of the composite catalysts, which provides more active sites. Meanwhile, the loading of CdS obviously broadens the light response range of Cd-MOF and improves the utilization of visible light. The Mott-Schottky model experiment shows that the formed type-II heterojunction between Cd-MOF and CdS can effectively inhibit the recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes. Meanwhile, the photocurrent intensity of MOF/CdS-6 is 8 times and 2.5 times of that of pure Cd-MOF and CdS. In addition, MOF/CdS-6 showed good photocatalytic performance after five cycles, showing excellent stability and reusability.