Synthesis and Characterization of Cerium Doped Titanium Catalyst for the Degradation of Nitrobenzene Using Visible Light

Abstract

Cerium doped catalyst was synthesized using Titanium isopropoxide as the Titanium source. The metal doped nanoparticles semiconductor catalyst was prepared by sol-sol method with the sol of Cerium. The synthesized catalyst samples were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, BET surface area, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV-vis diffuse reflectance measurements (DRS) and compared with undoped TiO2catalyst. The photocatalytic activity of the sample was investigated for the decomposition of nitrobenzene (NB) using visible light as the artificial light source. Cerium doped catalyst was found to have better degradation of nitrobenzene owing to its shift in the band gap from UV to visible region as compared to undoped TiO2catalyst. The operational parameters were optimized with catalyst dosage of 0.1 g L−1, pH of 9, and light intensity of 500 W. The degradation mechanism followed the Langmuir Hinshelwood kinetic model with the rate constant depending nonlinearly on the operational parameters as given by the relationshipKapp(theoretical) = 2.29 * 10−4* Intensity0.584* Concentration−0.230* Dosage0.425* pH0.336.

Nanoscale TiO2 films and their application in remediation of organic pollutants

“…A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t Edited June 15 6 27, [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41] and non-metals (e.g., C, B, F, N, S, etc.) [28,30,[42][43][44][45][46][47], co-doping of metals/nonmetals with other metals/non-metals [48][49][50][51][52], coupling with carbonaceous nanoscale materials (fullerene (C 60 ), carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene) [53][54][55][56][57][58][59] and metal oxides (WO 3 [60], [61], SnO 2 [62], MoO 3 [63], SiO 2 [64]), as well as capping (coating of one semiconductor or metal nanomaterial on the surface of another semiconductor or metal nanomaterial core) of TiO 2 [65,66].…”

“…Thus, smaller TiO 2 particles which possess dramatically higher surface-to-volume ratio, have greater specific surface area available for catalysis. As such, TiO 2 catalysts have been prepared in various nano-forms such as mobilized (nanoparticle powders [65], nanowires [79], nanotubes [32,80,81], and nanorods [82,83] in suspension form) and immobilized states (as thin films) [3,28,37,[84][85][86][87], with each having its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, as nanopowder mobilized form, TiO 2 has high photocatalytic activity because of its large available sur-A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t Edited June 15 7 face area for photocatalysis [27,88].…”

Photocatalytic decomposition of Rhodamine B on uranium-doped mesoporous titanium dioxide

“…The narrower band gap of the photocatalyst allows better utilization of visible light during the RhB photodegradation reaction aer U-doping, and this is consistent with literature reports. 10,39 For example, Fe 3+ -doped TiO 2 exhibited a red-shied absorption edge toward the visible region, which was responsible for improved performance of photodegradation of methylene blue and 4-chlorophenol under visible light. 39 This is also reported in the case of Ce-doped TiO 2 , which showed an improved photocatalytic capability for nitrobenzene degradation under visible light because of a narrowed band gap aer Ce-doping.…”

“…39 This is also reported in the case of Ce-doped TiO 2 , which showed an improved photocatalytic capability for nitrobenzene degradation under visible light because of a narrowed band gap aer Ce-doping. 10 The improved optical absorption ability of U-doped TiO 2 for visible light does not guarantee the doped catalyst has better photocatalytic properties. TiU3 showed a weaker capability for RhB removal than TiU2, even though it had a lower band gap energy.…”

“…[3][4][5][6][7][8] Metal doping may introduce new energy levels between the valence band and conduction band of anatase, which narrows the band gap and inhibits the recombination of photo-excited electron-hole pairs of metal-doped anatase compared to undoped anatase. 5,[9][10][11][12] Through such mechanisms, the photocatalytic properties of doped anatase under natural sun light may be improved. However, the effects of doping actinide elements, such as uranium (U), into TiO 2 and photocatalytic applications of the resulting material are understudied, although U with 5f electrons has been reported as an active catalyst for oxidation and reduction reactions.…”