Fabrication of stable high-performance urchin-like CeO2/ZnO@Au hierarchical heterojunction photocatalyst for water remediation

In this paper, the urchin-like CeO2/ZnO@Au photocatalyst was rationally designed and prepared through hydrothermal method, chemical precipitation and photo reduction deposition. The optimal photocatalyst (CZA8) degraded Rhodamine B (RhB), 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and Naproxen (NPX) about 100% within 20 min, 91.4% within 60 min and 88.9% within 30 min under Xe lamp illumination, respectively. Besides, the CZA8 possesses outstanding photo corrosion resistance capacity which has been verified with the cycle degradation experiments. The photocatalyst displays excellent light response and efficient separation of photo-induced carriers due to the fabrication of type-II heterojunction, the presence of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect and as well as the oxygen vacancy. The oxygen vacancy was systematically characterized by XPS, PL and Raman. Moreover, the photocatalytic degradation pathways are proposed based on the LC-MS results. Finally, a novel photocatalytic mechanism for photocatalytic oxidation of RhB, 4-NP and NPX is discussed and schematically illuminated. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, a highly efficient and photo-corrosion-resistant urchin-like CeO2/ZnO@Au photocatalyst was successfully designed and prepared, which showed excellent degradation efficiency towards various organic dyes within 20 minutes under light illumination. The photocatalyst exhibited good light response, efficient separation of photo-induced carriers, and the significant influence of oxygen vacancies on the photocatalytic performance.