Enhanced photocatalytic degradation of organic dye by CeO2/CNT/GO hybrid nanocomposites under UV light for wastewater treatment

Development of nanocomposites as efficient photocatalysts for the removal of hazardous organic pollutants is always in dire demand due to increase in water pollution. In this article, a facile sol-gel method has been used to synthesize cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles followed by their decoration over multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene oxide (GO) to construct binary as well ternary hybrid nanocomposites using ultrasonic treatment. The oxygen vacancy defects have been depicted using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) that may result into improved photocatalytic efficiency. The ternary hybrid nanocomposites (CeO2/CNT/GO) showed excellent photocatalytic efficiency towards degradation of rose bengal (RB) dye up to 96.9% in 50 min. CNTs and GO provide the interfacial charge transfer which inhibits the electron-hole pair recombination. The results obtained here indicate that these composites can be effectively utilized as promising materials for the degradation of harmful organic pollutants for wastewater treatment.

Automated summary

This article presents the synthesis of cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles using a sol-gel method, followed by their decoration on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene oxide (GO) to create binary and ternary hybrid nanocomposites via ultrasonic treatment. The presence of oxygen vacancy defects enhances the photocatalytic efficiency as observed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The ternary hybrid nanocomposites (CeO2/CNT/GO) exhibit excellent photocatalytic efficiency with a degradation rate of rose bengal (RB) dye up to 96.9% in 50 minutes. CNTs and GO facilitate interfacial charge transfer, thereby reducing electron-hole pair recombination. These findings suggest that these composites show great promise for the degradation of harmful organic pollutants in wastewater treatment.