Stepwise Synthesis of Au@CdS-CdS Nanoflowers and Their Enhanced Photocatalytic Properties

Fabrication of hybrid nanostructures with complex morphologies and high photocatalytic activity is a difficult challenge because these particles require extremely high preparation skills and are not always practical. Here, hierarchical flower-like Au@CdS-CdS nanoparticles (Au@CdS-CdS nanoflowers) have been synthesized using a stepwise method. The Au@CdS-CdS nanoflowers are consisted of Au core, CdS shell, and CdS nanorods. The UV-Vis absorption range of the Au@CdS-CdS nanoflowers reaches up to 850 nm which covers the whole visible range (400–760 nm). Photoinduced charge transfer property of Au@CdS-CdS nanoflowers was demonstrated using photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Compared to CdS counterparts and Au@CdS counterparts, Au@CdS-CdS nanoflowers demonstrated the highest photocatalytic degradation rate under irradiation of λ = 400–780 nm and λ = 600–780 nm, respectively. Based on structure and morphology analyses, we have proposed a possible formation mechanism of the hybrid nanostructure which can be used to guide the design of other metal-semiconductor nanostructures with complex morphologies. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s11671-019-2977-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.