Green synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic activity of Ce-doped TiO2 nanoparticles supported on porous glass

A facile and green method to prepare Ce-doped TiO2 nanoparticles supported on porous glass beads is reported. An ion exchange process and subsequent calcination yielded Ce-doped TiO2 nanoparticles with a mean size of 4.8 03 nm. The nanoparticles were dispersed on the surface of porous glass beads. The addition of Ce enhanced the visible light absorption of the TiO2 nanoparticles in the 400-500 nm spectral window. The band gap of the as-prepared catalyst was 2.80 eV.The Ce-doped TiO2 nanoparticles immobilized on porous glass beads exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity for the visible-light-degradation of methyl orange (MO) and rhodamine B (RhB); with rate constants of 0.095 and 0.230min(-1); respectively. The effects of Ce dosage; reaction duration; and initial solution pH on the conversion of MO and RhB dyes were investigated. The green synthesis and favorable photocatalytic activity makes the Ce-doped TiO2 nanoparticles immobilized on porous glass an attractive alternative for the efficient degradation of organic pollutants. (C) 2017 Chinese Society of Particuology and Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.