Synthesis and characterization of CeO2-SiO2 nanoparticles by microwave-assisted irradiation method for photocatalytic oxidation of methylene blue dye

Abstract

CeO2-SiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized for the first time by a facile microwave-assisted irradiation process. The effect of irradiation time of microwave was studied. The materials were characterized by N2 adsorption, XRD, UV-vis/DR, and TEM. All solids showed mesoporous textures with high surface areas, relatively small pore size diameters, and large pore volume. The X-ray diffraction results indicated that the as-synthesized nanoparticles exhibited cubic CeO2 without impurities and amorphous silica. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images revealed that the particle size of CeO2-SiO2 nanoparticles, which were prepared by microwave method for 30min irradiation times, was around 8nm. The photocatalytic activities were evaluated by the decomposition of methylene blue dye under UV light irradiations. The results showed that the irradiation under the microwave produced CeO2-SiO2 nanoparticles, which have the best crystallinity under a shorter irradiation time. This indicates that the introduction of the microwave really can save energy and time with faster kinetics of crystallization. The sample prepared by 30min microwave irradiation time exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic activity of CeO2-SiO2 nanoparticles, which were prepared by 30min irradiation times was found to have better performance than commercial reference P25. Copyright © 2012 R. M. Mohamed and E. S. Aazam.