Environmental remediation of cyanide solutions by photocatalytic oxidation using Au/CdS nanoparticles

• Improve photocatalytic activity of CdS nanoparticles by Au loading.
• Removal of cyanide.
• Removal efficiency of Au/CdS under visible photocatalyst reach 100%.

CdS nanoparticles were prepared by a hydrothermal method, and Au was deposited onto the surface of CdS via a photoassisted deposition method. The resulting samples were characterised by X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy, photoluminescence emission spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and surface area measurements. The catalytic performance of the samples in the photocatalytic oxidation of cyanide under visible light was determined. The UV–vis analysis indicated that a red shift occurred after Au was loaded onto CdS nanoparticles. The maximum photocatalytic oxidation efficiency was 100%, which was obtained using 0.2 wt% Au/CdS after a reaction time of 40 min.

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