Modulation of Magnetic and Luminescence Properties via Control Cu-Doped in CdWO₄ Nanorods for Photocatalytic Applications

Monoclinic CdWO4 is a member of the tungstate family with great potential in diverse applications. However, CdWO4 exhibits a diamagnetic property with a wideband gap of 3.7 eV, limiting its widespread applications. This study reports significant modulation of magnetic and optical properties of hydrothermally grown single-crystalline CdWO4 nanorods with controllable substitution of Cu2+ ions at the Cd2+ site. The chemical environment of Cu and the magnetic and luminescence of nanorods were thoroughly investigated using synchrotron-based powder X-ray diffraction, temperature-dependent photoluminescence, X-ray absorption, element selective X-ray excited optical luminescence spectroscopies, a magnetometer, and micro-Raman spectroscopy. The main feature of this study is an astonishing redshift of ∼0.8 eV in the bandgap energy accompanied by a relative ∼46% drop in the internal quantum efficiency and a progressive transition from diamagnetic to an enhanced magnetization concerning the Cu content. The experimental findings show that significant modulation in optical and magnetic properties is correlated with Cu-doping-induced intermediate energy states and [CuO6] ferromagnetic clusters. The outcome of this study provides important insight into designing doped nanomaterials for photocatalytic applications.