Enhanced photocatalytic activity and stability of ZnxCd1−xS/TiO2 nanocomposites synthesized by chemical bath deposition

• A novel ZnxCd1−xS/TiO2 composite have been successfully synthesized.
• The rate of MO degradation over the ZnxCd1−xS/TiO2 composite is much faster than those over pure ZnxCd1−xS and TiO2.
• The ZnxCd1−xS/TiO2 sample has almost no loss of photocatalytic activity after five recycles under the irradiation of visible light and UV light, indicating that composite has good photocatalytic stability.

A novel ZnxCd1−xS/TiO2 composite was fabricated through a facile chemical bath deposition method. The photocatalytic properties of ZnxCd1−xS/TiO2 were evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) under visible light and UV light irradiation. The results showed that the composite of the two inorganic semiconductors largely enhanced the photocatalytic degradation of MO under visible light and UV light irradiation. Moreover, the ZnxCd1−xS/TiO2 sample has almost no loss of photocatalytic activity after five recycles under the irradiation of visible light and UV light, indicating good photocatalytic stability of the composite. The remarkable photocatalytic activity of the ZnxCd1−xS/TiO2 composite may be derived from the effective separation of photogenerated electron-holes pairs owing to the formation of the interface between ZnxCd1−xS and TiO2 and their matching band positions.