Synthesis and characterization of carbon-TiO2-CeO2 composites and their applications in phenol degradation

The objective of this work was to synthesize particles of titanium oxide and cerium oxide supported on carbon, which was obtained through the pyrolysis of orange peel. The materials were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, and the specific surface area from Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method. The photocatalytic properties of the synthesized materials were determined by the degradation of phenol in 30 mg/L aqueous solutions. TiO2-CeO2 particles were obtained with an average spherical size of 57 nm and were supported on the carbon surface; this material presented a specific surface area of 296 m(2)/g and degrades 40% of phenol after 240 min of UV irradiation.