Enhanced Ferromagnetic Property at Room Temperature and Photocatalytic Efficiency of CdO/CeO₂/PVP Nanocomposite

The CdO/CeO₂ and CdO/CeO₂/PVP nanocomposites were synthesized by microwave irradiation. The X-ray diffraction study confirms that CdO/CeO₂ and CdO/CeO₂/PVP nanocomposites are polycrystalline nature with cubic structure. The particle size of heterostructure CdO/CeO₂ and CdO/CeO₂/PVP nanocomposites is decreased when compared with pure CdO. The energy-dispersive X-ray spectra confirm the existence of elements such as Cd, O, and Ce. FTIR analyzes the successful formation of the heterostructured CdO/CeO₂ nanocomposites. Morphological analysis confirms that the addition of PVP is reducing the particle size from agglomerated. UV-vis spectra corroborate the incorporation of CeO₂ particles on the surface of CdO. The CdO/CeO₂ and CdO/CeO₂/PVP nanocomposites have an increase in bandgap value compared with CdO due to quantum confinement effect. Photoluminescence spectra confirmed that the existence of defects and efficient charge separation of CeO₂–CdO in CdO/CeO₂ and CdO/CeO₂/PVP samples are due to the reduction in particle size. The prepared CdO/CeO₂ and CdO/CeO₂/PVP nanocomposites show the enhanced photocatalytic activity in methylene blue (MB) dye under UV irradiation. Magnetic measurement results show the room temperature ferromagnetism in all synthesized samples due to the existence of defects and quantum confinement effect. The observed results reveal that both CeO₂ and PVP produce considerable changes in the physical properties of CdO.