Experimental synthesis and theoretical study of Ce-doped TiO2 for degradation of methyl orange

Abstract

Rare earth-doped TiO2 has been widely studied for its degradation of small organic molecules under sunlight. Herein, both DFT calculation and experimental synthesis of Ce doped TiO2 were studied for MO degradation. Firstly, both the geometry and electronic structure were studied with DFT calculations. A decreased band gap and a newly emerged impurity energy level can be determined in the Ce doped TiO2. Then both TiO2 and Ce doped TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized with the hydrothermal method. SEM characterization shows that the average diameter of the nanoparticles is about 30 nm. Finally, the photocatalytic test manifested that Ce-doped TiO2 nanoparticles perform much better catalytic activity towards MO than the pristine TiO2.