Visible light driven CdS/WO3 inverse opals with enhanced RhB degradation activity

Abstract A novel CdS nanoparticle decorated WO 3 inverse opal nano-heterojunction photocatalyst is successfully prepared for Rhodamine B degradation. Although WO 3 cannot be used for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants alone, it can significantly enhance photocatalytic efficiency through a Z-scheme photocatalytic system by coupling with CdS. The optimal pseudo-first-order reaction rate constant of C10 is estimated to be 0.03575 min −1 and 8.9 times as high as that of pure WO 3 IO. The formation of a Z-scheme CdS-WO 3 photocatalyst leads to accelerated charge carrier transfer and efficient separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. This discovery provides new opportunities for the design and preparation of Z-scheme photocatalyst with excellent Rhodamine B degradation.