Enhancement of photocatalytic properties of TiO2 nanoparticles doped with CeO2 and supported on SiO2 for phenol degradation

A series of CeO2-TiO2 and CeO2-TiO2/SiO2 composites were prepared with TiCl4 and Ce (NO3)3·6H2O as precursors via a facile co-precipitation method. The obtained samples were characterized by various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption (N2-BET), Fourier transformation infrared spectrum (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and UV-Vis spectroscopy measurements. The results indicated that TiO2 doped with CeO2 and supported on SiO2 could reduce the crystallite size, inhibit the phase transformation, enhance the thermal stability, and effectively extend the spectral response from UV to visible range. When applied to the phenol photodegradation on a homemade batch reactor with an external cooling jacket, the CeO2-TiO2/SiO2 catalysts exhibited significantly enhanced photodegradation efficiency in comparison with commercial Degussa P25 and CeO2-TiO2. The unique catalytic properties of CeO2-TiO2/SiO2 were ascribed to improved electron-hole pairs separation efficiency and formation of more reactive oxygen species owing to the presence of Ce3+/Ce4+, as well as high dispersion of active component of CeO2-TiO2 as a result of the introduction of SiO2 support. Furthermore, the catalysts can be easily recovered from the reaction solution by centrifugation and reused for four cycles without significant loss of activity.