Synthesis of visible light-active CeO2 sheets via mussel-inspired CaCO3 mineralization

Visible light-active, nano-grained CeO2 sheets are successfully synthesized using polydopamine-induced CaCO3 vaterite microspheres. The nano-grained CeO2 sheets exhibited a distinct polycrystalline sheet-like structure with grains, with a red-shift in the UV-visible absorption spectrum and a much narrower bandgap (2.71-2.83 eV). Visible light-responsive photocatalytic activity was observed with nano-grained CeO2 sheets at a rate constant that was much higher than that of CeO2 nanoparticles.