Enhancement of visible light photocatalytic activity of CdO modified ZnO nanohybrid particles

• ZnO–CdO nanohybrid particles have been synthesized by hydrothermal co-precipitation method.
• ZnO–CdO-3:1 nanohybrid particles exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity under visible light.
• Higher density of CdO decreased the photocatalytic efficiency.

Highly effective ZnO–CdO nanohybrid particles were synthesized via a hydrothermal co-precipitation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), particle size analyzer, zeta sizer and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analysis. ZnO–CdO-3:1 nanohybrid photocatalyst exhibited significantly enhanced photostability and photocatalytic activity for the degradation of Methylene Blue. The formation of hydroxyl radicals was measured by photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Photocatalytic efficiency of ZnO was high at ZnO–CdO ratio of 3:1. Furthermore, this work provides an insight into the development of a new photocatalyst for the degradation of organic contaminants.