Construction of hybrid Z-scheme Pt/CdS–TNTAs with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic performance

• Hybrid Z-scheme Pt/CdS–TNTAs were facilely synthesized.
• Pt and CdS QDs accumulate into the triangle form on TNTAs substrate.
• Pt/CdS–TNTAs exhibits improved visible-light degradation of Rh B.
• The visible-light degradation mechanism on Pt/CdS–TNTAs is proposed.
• The prepared photocatalyst is easy to be recycled.

Hybrid Z-scheme Pt/CdS–TNTAs nanostructures have been successfully fabricated through a simple route. Pt and CdS quantum dots (QDs) are homogeneously dispersed along the channels of TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNTAs) and contact with TiO2 support in a triangle form. Pt/CdS–TNTAs hybrid structure extends absorption into the visible-light region and presents enhanced activity of photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B under visible light, which is ascribed to the effective vectorial electron transfer of CdS → TiO2 → Pt. It is proposed that superoxide and hydroxyl radicals should be the main active species in the photocatalytic reaction. Furthermore, the prepared catalyst has another advantage of easy recycling compared with the powder one.

The graphic presents the schematic illustration of Pt/CdS–TNTAs showing that QDs is uniformly deposited on TNTAs. The charge transfer route on the prepared sample is illuminated once CdS (PS1) and TiO2 (PS2) are under visible light (>420 nm) irradiation.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide