Synthesis, Characterization, Fluorescence, Photocatalytic and Antibacterial Activity of CdS Nanoparticles Using Schiff Base

Cadmium sulfide nanoparticles (CdS NPs) were successfully prepared using sonochemical method by employing Schiff-base, (2-[(4-methoxy-phenylimino)-methyl]-4-nitro phenol) as a complexing agent. Here, SB is used as a ligand to control the morphology of NPs. XRD patterns and TEM images show that the synthesized CdS NPs have cubic structures with a diameter of about 2–10 nm. The formation of CdS NPs and their optical, structure, thermal and morphologies were studied by means of UV-vis DRS, fluorescence, FTIR, zeta potential, XRD, SEM and TEM. The interactions between CdS NPs and SB were investigated in an aqueous solution using fluorescence spectroscopy. The fluorescence quenching studies suggest that SB quenches the fluorescence of CdS NPs effectively. The degradation kinetics of methyl red (MR) by the photocatalyst was followed by Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. The results revealed that photocatalytic degradation of MR by SB capped CdS NPs could be considered as a practical and reliable technique for the removal of environmental pollutants. The antibacterial activity of samples was evaluated against E. coli, S. aureus and P. aeruginosa and the results were compared. SB and SB capped CdS NPs could be a potential antibacterial compounds after further investigation.