Synthesis, Characterization and Photocatalytic Properties of Pr3+-Doped CdWO4 Using Godzilla Insecticide

Abstract

This study investigated the photocatalytic performance of hydrothermally produced Pr³⁺-doped CdWO₄ nanoparticles. XRD, SEM, FT-IR, and UV-Visible spectroscopy methods were used to characterise the produced sample. Using XRD to analyse the prepared samples' structural properties, it was discovered that the sample had crystallised in a low-temperature, monoclinic structure without any impurity phases. FT-IR studies indicate the presence of functional groups present in the prepared sample. SEM image showed an agglomeration of nanoparticles. The band-gap was calculated from Tauc's plot, and the band-gap energy was found to be 2.51eV, suitable for the photocatalytic activity in the UV-visible region and achieved the degradation percentage of 83.5 % successfully. Also, the kinetic study for the degradation showed that it follows the first-order reaction as it exhibited the negative slope when the graph was plotted between ln[C_t] vs Time.