Preparation and optical and photocatalytic properties of Ce-doped ZnO microstructures by simple solution method

We prepared ZnO photocatalysts with different Ce-doping levels using a simple one-step solution method utilizing Zn(NO3)2, Ce(NO3)3, and NaOH as raw materials. X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis, ultraviolet-visible diffusion spectroscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy were used to characterize the products. Ce-doping greatly influences the size, morphology, and optical properties of the samples. The particle size of Ce/ZnO samples decreases and the specific surface area increases accordingly compared with that of pure ZnO. The optical absorption edge of the Ce/ZnO samples displays an obvious red shift. Moreover, the band gap energy decreases with the increasing Ce content. The Ce/ZnO samples exhibit significantly enhanced photocatalytic performance than pure ZnO. The 1% Ce/ZnO sample possesses excellent photocatalytic activity in decomposing methylene blue (MB). The MB degradation efficiency reaches 96.11% after 140 min of irradiation.