A Convenient Method to Prepare Novel Rare Earth Metal Ce-Doped Carbon Nitride with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity Under Visible Light

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) doped with the rare earth metal Ce was prepared by a simple method using melamine and Ce(SO4)(2)center dot 4H(2)O as precursors. X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the prepared catalysts. The results indicate that the introduction of Ce inhibits the crystal growth of g-C3N4, decreases the bandgap energy, and increases the separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes. The activities of Ce-doped g-C3N4 catalysts were tested in the photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light. The rate constant of Ce-doped g-C3N4 is 2.1 x that of neat g-C3N4. A possible mechanism is proposed.