Synthesis, characterization, and photocatalysis of a rare-earth cerium/silver/zinc oxide inorganic nanocomposite

Abstract

A cerium/silver/zinc oxide (Ce/Ag/ZnO) inorganic nanocomposite was synthesized through a homogeneous precipitation method. The characterization and photocatalysis procedures were carried out by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-Vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy, and photocatalytic performance. The characteristic absorption peak of ZnO was near 432 cm−1, no absorption was observed peak near 1,083 cm−1 for CeO2 and ZnO, the absorption peak near 721 cm−1 was generated by the vibration of CeO2, and the absorption peak had an obvious blue shift. The XRD results showed a strong interfacial interaction among Ag, CeO2 and ZnO to form a core–shell structure. The SEM image showed that the Ce/Ag/ZnO samples are approximately 25 nm. The XPS spectra showed that the Ce/Ag/ZnO nanocomposite powders were successfully prepared. The UV-Vis diffuse reflection spectra showed that the Ce/Ag/ZnO nanocomposites reduced the band gap and increased the ability of visible light response. The addition of rare earth Ce could inhibit the recombination of ZnO photoelectron pairs and improve the photocatalytic effect. Therefore, Ce/Ag/ZnO exhibited good characteristics of nanocomposite materials and good photocatalytic ability.

Keywords

• cerium/silver/zinc oxide
• nanocomposite
• characterization
• band gap
• photocatalysis ability