Journal
RSC ADVANCES
Volume 11, Issue 57, Pages 36078-36088Publisher
ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY
DOI: 10.1039/d1ra07493h
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Funding
- Vingroup JSC
- Master, PhD Scholarship Programme of Vingroup Innovation Foundation (VINIF), Institute of Big Data [VINIF.2021.TS.101]
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Nanosized Ce-doped ZnO catalysts were synthesized by two different methods, hydrothermal and polymer gel combustion, to compare their photocatalytic efficiency. The Ce-ZnO-HT particles showed higher surface area and oxygen vacancy rate than Ce-ZnO-CB particles, leading to better photocatalytic performance in photodegradation of methyl blue.
Nanosized zinc oxide is an intriguing material that can be applied in various fields. In this study, Ce doped ZnO nano-catalysts (Ce-ZnO) were synthesized by two different methods (i.e., hydrothermal (Ce-ZnO-HT) and polymer gel combustion (Ce-ZnO-CB) methods) to compare their photodegradation efficiency. The prepared material characteristics were investigated using XRD, SEM, TEM, FTIR, UV-Vis, PL, XPS, EDS, and BET. The bandgap of both nanoparticles (NPs) was 2.95 eV, despite the fact that the morphology of Ce-ZnO-HT NPs was 1D-rod-shaped and that of Ce-ZnO-CB NPs was 0D-spherical. However, the surface area and oxygen vacancy rate of Ce-ZnO-HT NPs were higher than those of Ce-ZnO-CB NPs. These differences are directly related to the photocatalytic activity of Ce-ZnO NPs. Accordingly, the results showed that photocatalytic efficiency was classified in the order Ce-ZnO-HT > Ce-ZnO-CB > pure ZnO, and the photocatalytic reaction rate constant of Ce-ZnO-HT used to decompose MB was 3.0 times higher than that of Ce-ZnO-CB. Interestingly, the photodegradation mechanism study revealed that hydroxyl radicals and holes were shown to be more important contributors to methyl blue degradation than photo-induced electrons and superoxide radical ions.
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