Photoconductive and photocatalytic properties of CdO–NiO nanocomposite synthesized by a cost effective chemical method

A cost effective chemical method is used to synthesize pure CdO, NiO and CdO–NiO nanocomposite. The synthesized samples were characterized by techniques such as XRD, SEM, EDX, TG–DTA, FTIR and PL. Diffraction peaks related to both cubic CdO and NiO were observed in the XRD pattern of the composite. EDX spectrum confirms the presence of the elements Cd, Ni and O in the composite. From the diffuse reflectance spectroscopy studies, the band gap values of pure CdO, NiO and CdO–NiO composite were found to be equal to 2.47, 3.7 and 3.1 eV, respectively. Cd–O and Ni–O related bonds were observed in the FTIR spectrum of the composite. I–V characteristics confirm that the composite is well suited for photoconductive sensor applications. Enhanced photocatalytic activity was observed for the composite against the degradation of methyl orange dye under visible light irradiation.