Photocatalytic properties of the CeO2-xTiO(2)and TiO2-xCeO(2)(x=10, 30, and 50 mol) heterostructures obtained by a MAH

摘要

In this work, CeO2-TiO(2)heterostructures were submitted to the microwave-assisted hydrothermal (MAH) method at 140 degrees C for 30 minute, and varying the CeO(2)and TiO(2)percentages as 10, 30, and 50 mol. The heterostructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller methodology (BET), and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis). The photocatalytic properties were estimated varying the concentration of methylene blue (MB) dye. The diffractograms indicate the formation of TiO(2)anatase and CeO(2)phases, without the formation of secondary phases. TEM images indicate the formation of nanocubes and nanospheres for CeO(2)and TiO2, respectively. BET analysis indicates that CeO(2)has the largest surface area (62.80 m(2).g(-1)), and TiO2-10CeO(2)heterostructure has a low surface area (26.13 m(2).g(-1)). The addition of TiO(2)to CeO(2)increases the photocatalytic activity from 32 to 80 for CeO(2)and CeO2-50TiO2, respectively. In contrast, the addition of CeO(2)significantly decreases the photocatalytic activity of TiO(2)from 98.9 to 50 for TiO(2)and TiO2-50CeO2, respectively. Reuse tests showed that the TiO2-xCeO(2)samples maintain the photocatalytic response in subsequent cycles while the CeO2-xTiO(2)samples have an increase in the response.