Solvothermal Synthesis of Cerium-Doped Titania Nanostructured Materials Modified with Acetylacetone for Solar-Driven Photocatalysis

Abstract

This study reports the preparation of nanostructured cerium-doped titanium dioxide photocatalysts containing different cerium concentrations by a modified sol-gel route involving the use of acetylacetone. The nanocrystalline powders had their structural, morphological, and optical properties characterized by X-ray diffraction, vibrational and Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) surface area analysis, scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, total reflection X-ray fluorescence, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Cerium incorporation reduced the bandgap energy of the solids to values that allowed them to absorb visible light. Cerium presence improved the textural properties that are crucial for the catalytic process. The photocatalytic activities were evaluated through photodegradation experiments of methyl orange dye solution. The synthesis with acetylacetone as stabilizer provided nanostructured materials with higher Ce 3+ /Ce 4+ ratio, which enhanced the photocatalytic activity. Smaller quantities of the doped photocatalysts afforded higher degradation rates than the rates reported in the literature.

Synthesized TiO2 Mesoporous by Addition of Acetylacetone and Graphene for Dye Sensitized Solar Cells

“…For mixing the Acac with TiO 2 , the Raman intensity relatively increased, which can be considered a surfacemodified TiO 2 mesoporous by Acac. These results are consistent with those of the reported by Menezes et al [22].…”

“…Figure 8 shows the Raman spectra for the mixed Acac (0, 1, 2, and 3 mL) with a TiO 2 mesoporous layer. Raman modes can be assigned to the Raman spectra of the anatase structure: ~148 (E g ), 198 (E g ), 398 (B 1g ), 523 (A 1g ), 524 (B 1g ) and 642 cm −1 (E g ), which are typical of the D 2d point group and indicate the anatase phase [22]. For mixing the Acac with TiO 2 , the Raman intensity relatively increased, which can be considered a surfacemodified TiO 2 mesoporous by Acac.…”

Synthesizing and Optimizing Rutile TiO2 Nanoparticles for Magnetically Guided Drug Delivery

“…In case of cerium-doping, for 5% and 10% doping, ~23 nm crystallite size was obtained which dropped down to 17.68 nm for 15% doping and then shot to 29.83 nm for 20% doping. Menezes et al 36 fabricated Ce-doped TiO 2 NPs and observed that at 5 mol% doping, low-intensity ceria peaks originated which became more prominent for 10 mol% doping. In addition to this, the relationship between % ceria doping and the crystallite size was found to be non-linear.…”

Enhancing photocatalytic tetracycline degradation through the fabrication of high surface area CeO2 from a cerium–organic framework

“…Many different compounds have been tested in recent years for their ability to remove TCs from water. [10][11][12][13][14][15] CeO 2 has been one of the most studied lanthanide oxides in catalysis due its enhanced redox properties [16][17][18][19] however, many advancements in CeO 2 photocatalysts were generated by post-synthesis methods, which included the introduction of dopants, which makes processing complex. In addition, the majority of reports on the production of CeO 2 using high-temperature calcination resulted in low specic surface area, limiting catalyst performance.…”