Photocatalytic activity of Yb, Er, Ce‐codoped TiO₂ for degradation of Rhodamine B and 4‐chlorophenol

Abstract

BACKGROUND Photodegradation through an advanced oxidation process gives promising prospects for environmental protection. Although titanium dioxide (TiO2) is considered as an excellent photonic material candidate, however, the band gap of TiO2 is 3.2 eV which limits its effective applications. Various approaches have been developed for enhancing the utilization of TiO2 such as coupling with other narrow bandgap semiconductors and metal ions. We developed a novel ytterbium (Yb), erbium (Er), cerium (Ce)‐codoped TiO2 material as a high‐performance photocatalyst for efficient degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) and 4‐chlorophenol (4‐CP) by hydrothermal technique. Yb, Er, and Ce ions served as electron collectors for the interfacial electrons transferred from TiO2, thus enhancing the separation of the photo‐induced electron–hole pairs. RESULTS The photocatalytic activity of the prepared TiO2–Er0.15Yb0.15Ce0.14 sample is higher than those of undoped TiO2, TiO2–Ce0.3 and TiO2–Er0.15Yb0.15 samples under optimal condition. Our developed catalyst degraded 98% of 0.04 mM RhB and 95% of 0.6 mM 4‐CP under white light irradiation for 60 and 240 min, respectively. Moreover, a probable photodegradation mechanism is proposed. CONCLUSION TiO2–Er0.15Yb0.15Ce0.14 with high photocatalytic degradation efficiency under white light irradiation was synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Yb3+, Er3+, Ce4+ played a role as photo‐induced electron collectors to suppress the recombination of photo‐induced electron–hole pairs. The synthesized material has a high potential as an efficient photocatalyst for toxic pollutants in aqueous media. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

Ce-Doped Nanosheet as Visible Light Photocatalyst for the Photocatalytic Degradation of Tetracycline Hydrochloride

“…26 TiO 2 codoped with Yb/Er/Ce displayed efficient photocatalytic performance for the elimination of 4chlorophenol (4-CP) and RhB. 14 Ce, Er, and Yb ions acted as electron mediators during electron transfer from TiO 2 , promoting effective separation of photogenerated carriers. β-Bi 2 O 3 exhibited excellent performance in NO removal after combination with CeO 2−δ , which was due to the strengthened visible light adsorption and the fast separation of electron− pole pairs because of the oxygen vacancies.…”

Impact of Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) Modification on Its Application to Pollution Treatment—A Review

“…The core of photocatalytic technology is the photocatalyst, and many materials can act as a photocatalyst [5]. Table 1 shows the published data of different photocatalysts, including TiO 2 [6][7][8], SrTiO 3 [9][10][11], ZnO [12][13][14], WO 3 [15][16][17], ZrO 2 [18][19][20], and g-C 3 N 4 [21][22][23], and their performance. Among these photocatalysts, TiO 2 occupies an important position due to its stable 2 of 32 physical and chemical properties, strong oxidation capacity, high photocatalytic activity, and excellent biocompatibility [24][25][26].…”

Low‐temperature preparation and photoelectrochemical properties of TiO2 nanotubes‐graphene‐CNT hybrid structure

“…Amount difference candidates for preparation of hybrid carbon‐based materials, titanium dioxide is a particular candidate for the preparation of photosensitive structures because this metal oxide is known for its promising photocatalytic abilities 24‐26 . In this line, many research studies have been reported on the preparation and photocatalytic ability of titanium dioxide and its hybrid materials 27‐33 …”

“…[24][25][26] In this line, many research studies have been reported on the preparation and photocatalytic ability of titanium dioxide and its hybrid materials. [27][28][29][30][31][32][33] In recent years, titanium dioxide nanotubes have attracted much attention because of their unique shape and properties. 34,35 Surely, the preparation of its hybrids with carbon-based materials could reach us to both of the advantage of titanium dioxide nanotubes and carbon material.…”