Methylene blue photodegradation using as‐synthesized CeO₂ nanoparticles

Abstract

Cerium oxide (CeO 2 ) nanoparticles via solution combustion technique using Ce(NO 3 ) 3 as an oxidizer and benzoic acid as fuel were prepared at two different temperatures (500 and 600 C). The as-synthesized CeO 2 nanoparticles were characterized using FT-IR, PL, BET, XRD, VSM, and TEM techniques. The results of FT-IR and XRD techniques show that cerium oxide nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized. The absence of other peaks in the XRD pattern indicates that there are no impurities in these compounds. TEM images also confirm the synthesis of nanoparticles smaller than 20 nm. VSM results of CeO 2 nanoparticles show weak ferromagnetic properties. Furthermore, the as-synthesized CeO 2 nanoparticles were used for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB). The effect of various parameters such as irradiation time, amount of catalyst dosage, initial MB concentration, and solution pH was investigated. The results show that the best conditions for photocatalytic removal are pH solution of 10, 0.02 g of catalyst dose, initial MB concentration of 40 ppm, and UV irradiation time of 90 min. Therefore, the as-synthesized CeO 2 nanoparticles have a good performance as a catalyst and can be used for other organic dyes.

Oxidation of styrene to benzaldehyde and styrene oxide over nickel and copper ceria solution combustion catalysts

“…The x-ray powder diffractograms of the catalysts are shown in Figure 1. The diffraction peaks of all the catalysts can be indexed to the fluorite structure of CeO2 [26]. All diffractograms are similar to that of the blank CeO2 which confirms successful incorporation of nickel and copper atoms into the ceria lattice.…”