Abstract
Fibrous micro-nano hierarchical porous cerium dioxide materials were prepared from oriental paperbush flower stems by impregnation and thermal decomposition methods. Thermogravimetric analyzer (TG, DSC), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N2 adsorption-desorption isothermals, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), and UV-Vis spectrophotometer were used to characterize the thermal decomposition behavior, microstructure and photocatalytic properties of fibrous micro-nano hierarchical porous cerium dioxide materials. The results proved that the achieved products retained a fibrous morphology similar to oriental paperbush flower stems with the original biotemplate in material completely removed. The average diameter of CeO2 particles on the surface of the material is about 9 nm, and the large specific surface area is around 55.6 m2/g. UV-Vis absorption spectra showed that the fibrous micro-nano hierarchical porous cerium dioxide materials have high light absorption capacity and can respond to simulated sunlight. The effects of initial dye concentration, catalyst concentration, pH value, cycle number, and irradiation time on the photocatalytic activity of fibrous micro-nano hierarchical porous cerium dioxide materials for the photo-degradation of methylene blue under simulated solar irradiation were systematically studied. A reasonable photocatalytic mechanism is proposed based on the experimental results and theoretical analysis. This strategy can be extended to synthesize other broad bandgap semiconductor oxides with high photocatalytic activity for the photo-degradation of organic dyes under simulated solar irradiation.
Highlights
With the development of society and the progress of industry, the pollution caused by varied organic dyes is becoming worse, which results in more attention being paid to environmental and energy issues (Chen et al, 2020; Ge et al, 2021)
Methylene blue dye, which is difficult to degrade under natural conditions, was used to detect the photocatalytic activity of fibrous micro-nano hierarchical porous cerium dioxide materials
A measure of 400 ml of methylene blue solution with a concentration of 10, 50, 100, 150, 200, or 250 mg/L was poured into the photoreactor, and 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2, or 1.4 g/L of fibrous micro-nano hierarchical porous cerium dioxide materials was weighed and added into the reactor, and magnetic stirring was carried out simultaneously under the simulated sunlight irradiation with the wavelength of 320–780 nm
Summary
With the development of society and the progress of industry, the pollution caused by varied organic dyes is becoming worse, which results in more attention being paid to environmental and energy issues (Chen et al, 2020; Ge et al, 2021). No researchers have yet used the natural biological structure as a template to synthesize a CeO2 photocatalyst and study its photocatalytic activity. The selection of a suitable natural biological structure as a template can be prepared for the industrial production of high-performance CeO2 photocatalyst. Oriental paperbush flower stems were utilized to synthesize the CeO2 materials with a micro-nano hierarchical structure with high photocatalytic activity for the photodegradation of methylene blue dye under simulated solar irradiation. The phase purity, microstructure, morphology, optical properties, and photocatalytic activity of micro-nano hierarchical porous cerium dioxide materials were systematically studied. The results showed that the prepared micro-nano hierarchical porous cerium dioxide materials can preserve and duplicate the microstructure of the original biological template and exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity for the photo-degradation of methylene blue dye under simulated solar irradiation
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