CeO2/CdS heterojunction decorated cotton fabric as a recyclable photocatalyst for efficient light driven degradation of methylene blue

In this work, visible light response CeO2/CdS decorated cotton fabrics as durable and facile recyclable composite photocatalysts were fabricated for photo-degradation of methylene blue (MB). First of all, amino-functionalized CeO2/CdS heterojunctions were synthesized through a fast, efficient and low-cost co-precipitation method. Subsequently, the as-prepared CeO2/CdS heterojunctions were immobilized on aldehyde-functionalized cotton fabric surfaces as composite photocatalysts via "amine-aldehyde" chemical reaction. The surface microstructure and chemical composition of the CeO2/CdS decorated cotton fabric (CeO2/CdS-CF) were characterized by SEM, FTIR and XPS, respectively. The results showed that CeO2/CdS heterojunctions were successfully anchored and uniformly distributed on the surface of cotton fabric. Since the CeO2/CdS heterostructure with efficient photo-generated charge transfer and separation, the as-prepared CeO2/CdS-CF exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity, degrading MB under simulated sunlight irradiation with a degradation efficiency of 93.8% within 90 min. In addition, the degradation efficiency remained above 90.3% even after five successive degradation cycles, indicating the outstanding stability and recyclability of the obtained CeO2/CdS-CF. This work opened up a facile preparation way for the fabrication of durable and recyclable composite photocatalysts, and has a promising application in treating dye contaminated wastewater.