Abstract
The effective separation of photogenerated electron-hole (e−/h+) pairs play a key role in photocatalytic processes. Herein, the carbon spheres (CS) supported pure or Y-doped cerium oxide (CeO2) heterostructured photocatalysts were designed and fabricated via a facile and green chemical approach, aiming to improve the photocatalytic performances of CeO2 materials. The physiochemical properties of the CS/CeO2 and CS/Ce0.9Y0.1O2-δ products were characterized via X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and Flourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The photocatalytic performances were evaluated by the photodegradation of methylene blue dyes under ultraviolet and visible light irradiations. Compared to commercial CeO2 nanoparticles, the CS-coupled CeO2 heterostructured photocatalysts presented significantly enhanced photooxidation activities over MB. Under visible-light irradiation, the CS/Ce0.9Y0.1O2-δ photocatalysts achieved the most outstanding photodegradation efficiency of 99.9% with a high rate constant of 6.25 × 10−2/min. In addition, the developed CS/CeO2 photocatalysts were highly recyclable and did not show significant loss in photoactivity. The improved photocatalytic activity was attributed to the binary heterojunction formation created by the combination of CS and CeO2, the efficient interfacial separation of photogenerated e−/h+ charges, and the enriched tervalent cerium and oxygen vacancy induced by the Y3+ incorporated in CeO2. The possible photocatalytic mechanism toward MB dyes of the proposed CS-coupled CeO2 was also discussed. The developed photocatalysts are expected to be a promising material system in photochemical applications.
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