Controlled synthesis of Cadmium doped CuBi2O4 nanorods with rapid and synergistic visible light photocatalytic performance

The rise of nanotechnology has significantly influenced the synthesis of advanced photo materials and their various potential applications. In this study, newly advanced multicomponent photocatalyst was designed by a simple hydrothermal method i.e., CuBi2O4, Cd0.05Cu0.95Bi2O4, Cd0.1Cu0.90Bi2O4, and Cd0.15Cu0.85Bi2O4. These nanostructures were characterized using various spectroscopic techniques. The synthesized nanostructure material was tested for decontaminating water polluted with Congo red, using visible light irradiation. Within 60 min of irradiation, Cd0.1Cu0.90Bi2O4 exhibited 91 % degradation of Congo red, while Cd0.05Cu0.95Bi2O4 and Cd0.15Cu0.85Bi2O4 showed degradation rates of 80 % and 86 % respectively. In contrast, the pure CuBi2O4 had a lower photo degradation rate of 70 % over 70 min of visible light irradiation. Among the synthesized materials, Cd0.1Cu0.90Bi2O4 demonstrated the highest efficiency, require the shortest time to achieve significant degradation. Additionally, the impact of various parameters such as dosage, initial concentration, hydrogen peroxide, and salts on the photo-catalytic degradation of the dye has been studied. Consequently, it can be concluded that the use of hierarchical porous Cd0.1Cu0.90Bi2O4 photocatalyst holds promising potential in wastewater remediation.