Synthesis, Characterization, and Photocatalytic Activity of Y-Doped CeO2 Nanorods

Yttrium-doped ceria (YDC) nanorods were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis and characterized using Raman, UV-vis, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray powder diffraction. The ceria nanorods showed an increase in the amount of oxygen vacancies with an increase in the Y concentration. When the doping level is <30%, the optical band gap of the doped ceria is lower than that of pure ceria nanorods. At < 50% of Y doping, the composite nanorods exhibited a higher photocatalytic activity for the degradation of model organic dyes compared to the pure ceria at room temperature, and the catalyst with 10% loading showed the maximum photocatalytic efficiency. However, at 100 degrees C, the photocatalytic activity significantly improved for all the nanorods with different Y loadings, and the greatest improvement was obtained for the sample with the highest number of oxygen vacancies.