Enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity of Ce doped WO3 nanorods for Rhodamine B dye degradation

In this Work, Ce doped WO3 nanorods have been prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. Ce@WO3 samples exhibit excellent photocatalytic performance towards Rhodamine B(RhB) dye degradation, better than pristine WO3 NRs. XRD and Raman's spectroscopy confirm that no new peak was absorbed after Ce's addition into WO3 and retained its hexagonal phase. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) examined the chemical composition and the surface binding energy of the Ce@WO3 catalyst. The redshift in the absorption spectra indicates the increment of oxygen vacancies in the WO3 surface. The lowest PL intensity of 3% Ce@WO3 catalyst could slow the charge carrier's recombination, enhancing the photocatalytic performance. The 3% Ce@WO3 sample exhibits excellent photodegradation efficiency (96%) under visible light irradiation for 100 mins with a rate constant (3.18447 x 10-2 min-1). The recycling test indicates the stability of the catalyst. These results suggest that Ce@WO3 nanorods were the superior catalyst for wastewater treatment.

Automated summary

Ce-doped WO3 nanorods prepared by hydrothermal method show superior photocatalytic performance, with excellent degradation efficiency for Rhodamine B dye under visible light irradiation. The catalyst exhibits stability and low charge carrier recombination, enhancing the photocatalytic activity.