Photocatalytic activation of CdS NPs under visible light for environmental cleanup and disinfection

•Cadmium sulfide nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical co-precipitation method.•Nanoparticles were spherical in shape and the size of NPs is 5–65 nm in diameter.•The particles were highly stable.•Cadmium sulfide nanoparticles possessed efficient photocatalytic property.•The particles exhibited excellent antimicrobial activity.

The present study reported a simple and novel method for the synthesis of highly stable cadmium sulfide nanoparticles (CdS NPs). The CdS NPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray, particle size analyzer and Zeta potential measurement. The effective diameter of synthesized CdS NPs was found to be 18 nm and these were spherical in shape. The particles possessed better stability over 30 days of incubation period under static condition. The photocatalytic property of CdS NPs was also evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue dye under visible light source. The maximum photo-activity was observed at pH 8. The NPs exhibited excellent antimicrobial activity against Escherichiacoli (ATCC 13534), E. coli (ATCC 25922), and Staphylococcusaureus (ATCC 25923). The present study may be considered for the large scale application in medical and environmental fields.