Enhanced visible light-driven photocatalytic performance of CdSe nanorods

Cadmium selenide (CdSe) semiconductor nanorods are prepared in hydrothermal process using hydrazine hydrate (N₂H₄.H₂O) and ammonia (NH₃.H₂O) as reducing agents. The reaction time is increased to 7 h and the amount of hydrazine hydrate used is also increased to 15 mL which have resulted in diminished stacking faults in the CdSe nanorods prepared. The crystal structure, morphological variations, and size of the prepared CdSe nanorods are examined by XRD analysis. The crystalline size of the CdSe nanorods is 20-30 nm in diameter. HRTEM images reveal the formation of high order CdSe nanorods of the length about 25-40 nm. The bandgap in the CdSe nanoparticles is determined to be 2.17 eV. The peak at 595 nm in photoluminescence (PL) spectrum indicates oxygen vacancy defects in the prepared CdSe sample. The variation of dielectric properties with respect to temperature and frequency of pelletized CdSe is studied. High photocatalytic efficiency (98%) of catalyst/H₂O₂ is also achieved for decomposition of Rhodamine-B dye.