One-step synthesis of reduced graphene oxide based ceric dioxide modified with cadmium sulfide (CeO2/CdS/RGO) heterojunction with enhanced sunlight-driven photocatalytic activity

•CeO2/CdS/RGO was fabricated via a one-step hydrothermal method.•90% of ciprofloxacin can be photodegraded by CeO2/CdS/RGO within 120 min.•Cr(VI) can be completely photoreduced by CeO2/CdS/RGO within 60 min.•CeO2/CdS/RGO has excellent photocatalytic activity on various pollutants.•Modification of CeO2 with CdS and RGO greatly enhances its photocatalytic activity.