Hydrothermal synthesis, characterization and catalytic oxidation property of ATP/Ce1−xLaxO2−δ nanocomposites

Ce1−xLaxO2−δ nanoparticles supported on the attapulgite nanocomposites were prepared by using hydrothermal synthesis method. The nanocomposites were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and nitrogen adsorption-desorption. The results showed that the Ce1−xLaxO2−δ nanoparticles were attached to the surface of the attapulgite. The ATP/Ce1−xLaxO2−δ nanocomposites displayed the excellent catalytic activity for decomposing methylene blue. When La addition reaches x = 0.2, the decolorization ratio of methylene blue using ATP/Ce0.8La0.2O1.9 as catalyst reached over 99%.