Abstract
The nanocomposite of titanium dioxide (TiO2) combined with graphene oxide (GO) and cerium (Ce) was successfully synthesized via sol–gel method followed by calcining at 300 °C for 2 h. The composite was characterized by X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) under the irradiation of xenon lamp. This study demonstrated that GO and Ce co-doped in TiO2 could broaden absorption edge to the visible light and increase surface area of samples. SEM observation showed that addition of Ce could solve the problem of the agglomeration of GO under the same experimental conditions. Moreover, the MB photocatalytic degradation rate of the composite with GO doped for 0.2 % and Ce doped for 0.6 % (mass ratio) was up to 97.7 %, which was largely attributed to the synergistic effects in the GO, Ce and TiO2 system.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
X. Chen, S.S. Mao, Titanium dioxide nanomaterials: synthesis, properties, modifications, and applications. Chem. Rev. 107, 2891–2959 (2007)
M. Anpo, P.V. Kamat, Environmentally Benign Photocatalysts: Applications of Titanium Oxide-Based Materials (Springer, Berlin, 2010)
M. Mohammadi, D. Fray, Nanostructured TiO2–CeO2 mixed oxides by an aqueous sol–gel process: effect of Ce:Ti molar ratio on physical and sensing properties. Sens. Actuators B Chem. 150, 631–640 (2010)
J. Xie, J. Li, L. Zhao, X. Zhang, B. Yu, R. Wu, R. Wang, J.-H. Liu, F. Xue, S.-T. Yang, Fabrication of TiO2–graphene oxide aerogel for the adsorption of copper ions. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. Lett. 6, 1018–1023 (2014)
G. Jiang, Z. Lin, L. Zhu, Y. Ding, H. Tang, Preparation and photoelectrocatalytic properties of titania/carbon nanotube composite films. Carbon 48, 3369–3375 (2010)
M. Zhu, P. Chen, M. Liu, Graphene oxide enwrapped Ag/AgX (X = Br, Cl) nanocomposite as a highly efficient visible-light plasmonic photocatalyst. ACS Nano 5, 4529–4536 (2011)
B. Li, T. Liu, Y. Wang, Z. Wang, ZnO/graphene-oxide nanocomposite with remarkably enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic performance. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 377, 114–121 (2012)
X. Pu, D. Zhang, Y. Gao, X. Shao, G. Ding, S. Li, S. Zhao, One-pot microwave-assisted combustion synthesis of graphene oxide–TiO2 hybrids for photodegradation of methyl orange. J. Alloys Compd. 551, 382–388 (2013)
J. Liu, H. Bai, Y. Wang, Z. Liu, X. Zhang, D.D. Sun, Self-assembling TiO2 nanorods on large graphene oxide sheets at a two-phase interface and their anti-recombination in photocatalytic applications. Adv. Funct. Mater. 20, 4175–4181 (2010)
G. Jiang, Z. Lin, C. Chen, L. Zhu, Q. Chang, N. Wang, W. Wei, H. Tang, TiO2 nanoparticles assembled on graphene oxide nanosheets with high photocatalytic activity for removal of pollutants. Carbon 49, 2693–2701 (2011)
C. Koepke, K. Wisniewski, L. Sikorski, D. Piatkowski, K. Kowalska, M. Naftaly, Upconverted luminescence under 800 nm laser diode excitation in Nd3+-activated fluoroaluminate glass. Opt. Mater. 28, 129–136 (2006)
Y. Wang, H. Cheng, Y. Hao, J. Ma, W. Li, S. Cai, Photoelectrochemical properties of metal-ion-doped TiO2 nanocrystalline electrodes. Thin Solid Films 349, 120–125 (1999)
K. Ranjit, I. Willner, S. Bossmann, A. Braun, Lanthanide oxide doped titanium dioxide photocatalysts: effective photocatalysts for the enhanced degradation of salicylic acid and t-cinnamic acid. J. Catal. 204, 305–313 (2001)
Y. Chai, H. Ding, Z. Zhang, Y. Xian, Z. Pan, L. Jin, Study on photocatalytic oxidation for determination of the low chemical oxygen demand using a nano-TiO2–Ce(SO4)2 coexisted system. Talanta 68, 610–615 (2006)
H. Xia, H. Zhuang, D. Xiao, T. Zhang, Photocatalytic activity of La3+/S/TiO2 photocatalyst under visible light. J. Alloys Compd. 465, 328–332 (2008)
B. Elidrissi, M. Addou, M. Regragui, C. Monty, A. Bougrine, A. Kachouane, Structural and optical properties of CeO2 thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis. Thin Solid Films 379, 23–27 (2000)
Z. Liu, B. Guo, L. Hong, H. Jiang, Preparation and characterization of cerium oxide doped TiO2 nanoparticles. J. Phys. Chem. Solids 66, 161–167 (2005)
A. Worayingyong, S. Sang-urai, M. Smith, S. Maensiri, S. Seraphin, Effects of cerium dopant concentration on structural properties and photocatalytic activity of electrospun Ce-doped TiO2 nanofibers. Appl. Phys. A 117, 1191–1201 (2014)
C. Yagci, U. Yildiz, Redox polymerization of methyl methacrylate with allyl alcohol 1,2-butoxylate-block-ethoxylate initiated by Ce(IV)/HNO3 redox system. Eur. Polym. J. 41, 177–184 (2005)
N.I. Kovtyukhova, P.J. Ollivier, B.R. Martin, T.E. Mallouk, S.A. Chizhik, E.V. Buzaneva, A.D. Gorchinskiy, Layer-by-layer assembly of ultrathin composite films from micron-sized graphite oxide sheets and polycations. Chem. Mater. 11, 771–778 (1999)
J.D. Kim, T. Palani, M.R. Kumar, S. Lee, H.C. Choi, Preparation of reusable Ag-decorated graphene oxide catalysts for decarboxylative cycloaddition. J. Mater. Chem. 22, 20665–20670 (2012)
G. Jiang, X. Zheng, Y. Wang, T. Li, X. Sun, Photo-degradation of methylene blue by multi-walled carbon nanotubes/TiO2 composites. Powder Technol. 207, 465–469 (2011)
J. Lin, C.Y. Jimmy, An investigation on photocatalytic activities of mixed TiO2-rare earth oxides for the oxidation of acetone in air. J. Photochem. Photobiol., A 116, 63–67 (1998)
B. O’regan, M. Grätzel, A low-cost, high-efficiency solar cell based on dye-sensitized colloidal TiO2 films. Nature 353, 737–740 (1991)
J.-Y. Lee, J. Park, J.-H. Cho, Electronic properties of N-and C-doped TiO2. Appl. Phys. Lett. 87, 1904 (2005)
M. Sainz, A. Duran, J.F. Navarro, UV highly absorbent coatings with CeO2 and TiO2. J. Non-Cryst. Solids 121, 315–318 (1990)
F. Li, X. Li, M. Hou, K. Cheah, W. Choy, Enhanced photocatalytic activity of Ce3+–TiO2 for 2-mercaptobenzothiazole degradation in aqueous suspension for odour control. Appl. Catal. A 285, 181–189 (2005)
P. Sun, L. Liu, S.-C. Cui, J.-G. Liu, Synthesis, characterization of Ce-doped TiO2 nanotubes with high visible light photocatalytic activity. Catal. Lett. 144, 2107–2113 (2014)
Acknowledgments
The present study was supported by Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (2015JJ6025) and International Cooperation Project (2015DFA61170).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Li, J., Zhang, Q., Zeng, L. et al. Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic study of graphene oxide and cerium co-doped in TiO2 . Appl. Phys. A 122, 51 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-015-9580-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-015-9580-7