CdS-pillared CoAl-layered double hydroxide nanosheets with superior photocatalytic activity

•CdS nanocrystals were intercalated into CoAl-LDH interlayer.•The nanohybrid display superior visible-light photocatalytic activity.•A photoexcitation model for the pillared heterostructured system was proposed. A new nanohybrid was synthesized by mixing the positively charged 2D nanosheets of CoAl-layered double hydroxide (CoAl-LDH) and the negatively charged CdS nanosol suspensions. It was revealed that the CdS nanoparticles were intercalated into the interlayer region of CoAl-LDH with a spacing of 2.62nm. The obtained nanohybrid exhibited a mesoporous texture with an expanded specific surface area of 62m2g−1 and a superior photocatalytic activity in the degradation of acid red with a reaction constant of 1.26×10−2min−1 under visible-light radiation, which is more than 2 times those of his parents CoAl-LDH and CdS.