Self-assembly synthesis of CdS/rGO composite aerogels and its photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride

A CdS/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composite aerogel with CdS nanosheets (CdS NSs) grown on an interconnected three-dimensional rGO-based porous network was prepared by one-pot hydrothermal method using L-lysine as a reducing agent and the cross-linker. The results show that its enhanced adsorption toward pollutants owing to its large Brunauer-Emmett-Teller specific surface area and spongy nature, and improved light absorption due to its extremely light weight nature. Moreover, the rGO promotes the photogenerated charge separation. Thus, the CdS/rGO composite aerogel exhibits enhanced activity for photocatalytic degradation.It can be observed that the tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) has been degraded totally after 45 min by irradiated CdS/rGO composite aerogel, and almost all TC has been mineralized after 1.5 h. Moreover, the CdS/rGO composite aerogel also shows high stability and can be easily separated from the reaction systems for recycling. The photocatalytic reduction activity of CdS/rGO composite aerogel shows no obvious decrease after 5 cycles.