A solar light active CdFe2O4 photocatalyst was successfully prepared by sol-gel autocombustion method and annealed for 2 hours at different temperature. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses were done to investigate the effect of calcination temperature on the particle size, formation of desired crystalline phase and removal of water and nitrate impurities. Scanning electron microscopy was used to analyze the morphology of the CdFe2O4 sample. The diffuse reflection spectra results show that CdFe2O4 photocatalyst can absorb visible light. The effect of calcination temperature on band gap energy was studied and the optical spectra indicate that the CdFe2O4 has a direct band gap due to direct transition. The photocatalytic activity of CdFe2O4 under solar light irradiation was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) a model organic pollutant at different calcination temperatures. The photocatalytic experimental result demonstrates that CdFe2O4 sample calcined at 6000C shows can effectively degrade the pollutant present in water. Recyclability experiment shows that CdFe2O4 calcined at 6000C is more stable and recyclable photocatalyst under solar light.
