Photocatalytic degradation mechanisms of CeO2/Tb2O3 nanotubes

CeO2/Tb2O3 nanotubes (NTs) have been synthesized using the surfactant free co-precipitation method. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images, X-ray spectroscopy (XPS) spectra, and energy dispersive X-ray (EDAX) profiles showed that the as-synthesized samples were CeO2/Tb2O3 NTs. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized catalysts was evaluated by degrading Methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. The fitting of the absorbance maximum as a function of time showed that the photodegradation of the MB followed pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics. The estimated rate constants for the CeO2 NPs and the CeO2/Tb2O3 NTs were found to be 0.0134 and 0.0317 min−1, respectively. The photodegradation efficiency of CeO2/Tb2O3 nanotubes was 93% after 75 min, which was found to be higher than those of CeO2 NPs (66%).