Structural, optical, morphological and charge transfer properties of CeO 2 /MWCNTs nanocomposite and their photocatalytic activity of organic dye degradation

In the present work, the CeO 2 /MWCNTs nanocomposite was prepared by a one-step hydrothermal method. The composite formation, phase purity, crystal structure, vibrational modes, morphological, size, chemical state, and optical properties of the CeO 2 /MWCNTs nanocomposite were investigated using various analytical techniques (XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM, TEM, XPS, UV-DRS and PL). The degradation of aqueous Methylene Blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RhB) as model dyes under UV–visible light irradiation was used to assess the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of synthesized materials. CeO 2 /MWCNTs nanocomposite were shown to have a better photocatalytic degradation efficiency than pure CeO 2 . The excellent dye degradation behavior of CeO 2 /MWCNTs nanocomposite, a redshift in light absorption and prevention of photo-excited electron-hole pair recombination rate are all factors that contribute to photocatalytic dye degradation efficiency. The efficiency of photocatalytic dye degradation, photocurrent response and possible photocatalytic mechanisms were addressed. Furthermore, the catalyst stability was demonstrated over several dye treatment cycles. Graphical abstract The graphical abstract shows the general photocatalytic mechanism and degradation were performed using MB and RhB dyes as model pollutants under UV–Visible light. Furthermore, MWCNTs are essential for boosting the photocatalytic activity of the CeO 2 /MWCNTs nanocomposite due to their efficient charge transportation and low photo-excited charge transport recombination rates. In this photocatalytic experiment, the degradation efficiency has calculated the values of 58%, 92%, and 68%, 85% corresponding to the MB and RhB dye, respectively. The photocatalytic efficiency of binary composite was higher than the bare CeO 2 . The higher degradation efficiency of 92% of the CeO 2 /MWCNTs nanocomposite considered as a potential catalyst for photocatalytic application