Enhanced photocatalytic, antibacterial, and electrochemical properties of CdO-based nanostructures by transition metals co-doping

In the present work, single Ni-doped and Co, Cr, Cu co-doped CdO nanostructures via sol-gel approach were fabricated. The XRD diffractograms have confirmed the successful doping and co-doping in CdO lattice without any impurity phase generation. FTIR and Raman spectra have further confirmed the metal-oxygen bonding vibration and optical phonon modes related to CdO. FE-SEM images exhibited nanobelt type morphology varied with the type of dopant and EDX evident the presence of dopants along with Cd, and O. PL and IV results exhibited that the charge carrier recombination hinders and electrical conductivity has improved by co-doping. UV–vis absorbance spectra have shown redshift in energy bandgap by co-doping. The CV, EIS, and GCD tests suggested the superior electrochemical capacitive characteristic of co-doped CdO and can serve as efficient electrode materials. The photocatalytic activity results exhibited increased photodegradation performance by co-doping, and the highest was achieved for Ni/Cr co-doped samples. The antimicrobial activity results have shown a higher zone of inhibition against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacterial strains. The narrow energy bandgap, lower recombination, and low charge transfer resistance are responsible for boosting the properties of CdO by co-doping and making it a prospective candidate as effective photocatalysts, antibiotic-resistant agents, and supercapacitor electrode materials.