Influence of CTAB surfactant on the various properties of CdO nanoparticles and their application in field of dye degradation

By co-precipitation, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) assisted CdO nanoparticles with different CTAB concentrations (0.0M, 0.04M, 0.08M, and 0.12M) have been synthesized and evaluated for potential photocatalytic applications. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) results indicate that crystallite size increases as the concentration of CTAB is increased. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) exhibits that flat sheet-like morphology is changing into a thin needle-like structure with a concentration of surfactant. Elemental Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) confirmed the existence of constituents and hence marks the purity of prepared samples. The broad peak of Raman spectra is consisting of three bands from 200-500 cm-1 while Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra certify vibration of Cd and O bonds are present at 530 cm-1. The optical band gap is found to slightly decrease due to the addition of CTAB. The results of the experiment showed that CdO nanoparticles degraded Methylene Blue (MB) up to 83% in UV light, and Rose Bengal (RB) dye up to 85% in sunlight within 80 minutes of exposure.