Abstract
A simple biomolecule-inspired chemical procedure was adopted for the successful synthesis of cadmium sulphide nanoparticles (CdS-G and CdS-M) using glucose and maltose as capping agents. These nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Energy dispersive X-ray (EDAX) and Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy in order to evaluate their particle size, morphology, and optical properties. The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) by CdS-G and CdS-M nanoparticles under visible light was estimated and the kinetics of photocatalytic degradation were compared by the evaluation of operational parameters viz., an amount of the photocatalyst, the pH of the solution, and concentration of the dye. The mechanism of generation of hydroxyl radicals on the surface of the CdS-G/M nanoparticles upon visible-light irradiation was confirmed by the terephthalic acid photoluminescence technique. The study of the effect of tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) and of a disodium salt of ethlyenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA-2Na) as scavengers, as well as photoluminescence measurements, revealed that HO center dot and hole (h(+)) were the reactive species responsible for the degradation of MB. The anthelmintic activity of CdS-G/M nanoparticles was also evaluated. (C) 2015 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.