The Effect of Annealing on the Physical Characteristics and Photocatalytic Activity of CdS/20%α-Fe2O3 Nanocomposites

This work aims to investigate the impact of annealing on the characteristics and photocatalytic efficiency of CdS/20% alpha-Fe2O3 nanocomposite. The samples were prepared through a straightforward solid-state reaction process, followed by annealing at various temperatures (T-a = 300 degrees C, 400 degrees C, and 500 degrees C). Several methods, including XRD, FTIR, SEM, and UV-Vis DRS, have been employed to investigate the structure, morphology, and properties of the synthesized composites, as well as the chemical interactions between alpha-Fe2O3 and CdS. The structural characterization revealed the formation of the hematite phase at 400 degrees C. As the T-a increased, the crystallite size decreased from 55.96 to 50.77 nm, which is consistent with the observations made using SEM analysis. The band gap energy was found to range between 2.36 and 2.29 eV. Additionally, the photocatalytic activities of the samples were examined using the breakdown of methylene blue (MB) as a model compound. The results indicated that the CdS/20%-Fe2O3 nanocomposite exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity for visible light at T-a = 500 degrees C.