A novel CeO2/InVO4 composite with high visible-light induced photocatalytic activity

• A novel CeO2/InVO4 composite was synthesized through a two-step method.
• CeO2/InVO4 exhibits a visible light absorption performance and well crystallinity.
• CeO2/InVO4 showed excellent photocatalytic activity for MB degradation.
• CeO2/InVO4 has better separation efficiency of photogenerated electron and hole.

A novel visible light-driven CeO2/InVO4 composite photocatalyst was successfully synthesized by coupling of hydrothermal method and homogeneous precipitation method. The photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and photoluminescence techniques. The synthesized CeO2/InVO4 composite was used as the efficient photocatalysts for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light illumination which shows the degradation (72%) of MB in 120 min. The enhanced photocatalytic performance of CeO2/InVO4 arises from more sufficient interfacial interaction between CeO2 and InVO4, leading to extended photoresponding range, enhanced photogenerated charge separation, and transportation efficiency.