Preparation and Characterization Studies of Nanostructured CdO Thin Films by SILAR Method for Photocatalytic Applications

This work reports the preparation of cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films with different molar concentrations on glass substrate by simple and low cost SILAR (Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction) method. The characterization, XRD pattern confirmed the presence of polycrystalline CdO in the deposited thin films with the cubic structure. The surface morphology and elemental composition of prepared thin films have been examined by scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis system. The optical property of the films was analyzed by UV–visible spectroscopy. The band gap of the deposited thin films was estimated by Tauc’s plot and it was found to be 2.6–2.8 eV. The prepared thin films were examined for the decomposition of the Methylene Blue (MB) dye which was visualized by UV-Visible spectroscopy, by decreasing the intensity of absorbance and concentration.