Ce-TiO2 nanoparticles with surface-confined Ce3+/Ce4+ redox pairs for rapid sunlight-driven elimination of organic contaminants from water

Industrial discharge of organic pollutants poses a severe threat to human health and aquatic life. Elimination of these pollutants from drinking and wastewater is imperative for a sustainable environment. To address this issue, pure and Ce3+-doped TiO2 nanoparticles are designed with stable tetragonal (anatase) lattices by a low-temperature sol–gel process. The spectroscopic and structural analyses reveal the formation of TiO2 and Ce-TiO2 nanocrystals with controlled crystallite size (3–6 nm), high surface areas, and varying surface chemistry. The effect of calcination (thermal (Δ) treatment at 450 °C) on the structure and photocatalytic performance of ΔTiO2 and ΔCe-TiO2 nanoparticles is also investigated. Simultaneous photocatalysis experiments over a 90-min exposure to natural sunlight show 240 % and 191 % improved elimination of methylene blue (MB), an organic pollutant, by Ce-TiO2 and ΔCe-TiO2 nanoparticles compared to their pure TiO2 analogs. Also, Ce-TiO2 and ΔCe-TiO2 nanoparticles exhibit 326 % and 229 % faster kinetics for the photocatalytic elimination of MB primarily due to the surface-confinement of Ce3+ in Ce-TiO2 nanocrystals, where Ce3+ ions play a dual role as reducing agent for adsorbed oxygen species and electron trap sites via Ce3+/Ce4+ interconversion. The mechanism of photocatalytic redox reactions is discussed. The study elaborates on the role of Ce-TiO2 nanoparticles as an effective photocatalyst for the elimination of organic pollutants in wastewater.