Role of thermal treatment on sol-gel preparation of porous cerium titanate: Characterization and photocatalytic degradation of ofloxacin

CeTi2O6 was prepared using PEG4000 as template agent in a sol-gel route. Crystallization of brannerite structured CeTi2O6 begins at 700 °C, while phase transformation from CeTi2O6 to CeO2 and rutile TiO2 occurs in the samples calcined over 800 °C. The porous cerium titanate samples are composed of nano-sized spherical particles with interparticle holes. Ti-O and Ce-O bondings have characteristic absorptions in the FT-IR spectra of the crystallized samples. Band gap energies of the samples calcined at 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 and 1000 °C are 2.60, 2.61, 3.10, 3.18, 3.11 and 3.01 eV, respectively. Calcination temperature can put essential effect on the porous properties of the materials. BET surface area of the samples shrinks from 89 to 1.6 m2/g when calcination temperature increases from 500° to 1000°C, accompanied with the decrease of total pore volume from 0.2849 to 0.0012 cm3/g. The sample calcined at 800 °C has the maximum photocatalytic activity on both hydroxyl radical generation and ofloxacin degradation.