Biotemplating synthesis of N-doped two-dimensional CeO2–TiO2 nanosheets with enhanced visible light photocatalytic desulfurization performance

Abstract

The novel nitrogen doped two-dimensional CeO2–TiO2 nanosheets with a thickness of less than 5 nm were synthesized by a facile impregnation method using Chinese rose petals as biological templates. The detailed characterization by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) exhibited that the CeO2–TiO2 composites exactly duplicated the microstructure of Chinese rose petal and the self-owned nitrogen was successfully doped into the CeO2–TiO2 composites, which could enhance the visible light absorption efficiency. UV–Vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy (DRS), photocurrent measurement (PM), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS) and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) were used to analyze the electrons and holes separation efficiency, which revealed that CeO2 and TiO2 formed well-defined hetero junctions promoting the effective separation of photogenerated electrons and holes. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of dibenzothiophene (DBT) in model oil. The amount of hydrogenperoxide (H2O2) and photocatalysts, the molar ratios of Ce and Ti in CeO2–TiO2 composites as photocatalytic reaction conditions were investigated. Results showed that the removal rate of DBT could reach 93.7% under visible light irritation for 3 h, when the molar ratio of Ce/Ti was 1/1, the mass ratio of photocatalyst/DBT was 1/2 and the molar ratio of H2O2/DBT was 2/1. The trapping experiments confirmed that the photoinduced active species (•OH radical) was responsible for the degradation of DBT. Further studies demonstrated that DBT was converted to the corresponding sulfone, which could be extracted by the polar solvent. Moreover, a plausible mechanism for the photocatalytic oxidative desulfurization of this nanocomposite was proposed.