Facile Synthesis of CeO2/CoWO4 Hybrid Nanocomposites for High Photocatalytic Performance and Investigation of Antimicrobial Activity

• Published in: Journal of electronic materials 2021-05, Vol.50 (5), p.2890-2902
• Main Authors: Selvi, S., Rajendran, Ranjith, Barathi, D., Jayamani, N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antimicrobial agents; Cerium oxides; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Crystal structure; Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy; Dyes; Electromagnetic absorption; Electronics and Microelectronics; Energy transfer; High resolution electron microscopy; Hydrothermal crystal growth; Instrumentation; Interfacial energy; Materials Science; Methylene blue; Morphology; Nanocomposites; Nanoparticles; Optical and Electronic Materials; Optical properties; Original Research Article; Photocatalysis; Photocatalysts; Photodegradation; Photoluminescence; Separation; Solid State Physics; Spectrum analysis
• ISSN: 0361-5235; 1543-186X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11664-020-08729-z

In this work, novel CeO 2 /CoWO 4 heterostructured nanocomposites (NCs) were synthesized via a hydrothermal method. X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy were carried out to determine the crystal structure, deep morphology, optical properties, and charge separation of the obtained photocatalysts (PCs), respectively. In comparison to the pristine CoWO 4 , the CeO 2 and CeO 2 /CoWO 4 PCs demonstrated enhanced activity of methylene blue (MB) aqueous dye photodegradation under visible-light exposure. The photodegradation efficiency of the as-prepared CeO 2 /CoWO 4 photocatalyst showed the premier decomposition ratio (92.5%) of MB dye in 105 min among all samples, which was notably 1.8-fold and 2.2-fold that of the pristine CeO 2 (43%) and CoWO 4 (60%), respectively. Likewise, the CeO 2 /CoWO 4 PCs retained satisfactory photo-reactivity even after five sequential recycling runs, indicating their excellent photocatalytic stability and robustness. Hence the succeeding superior PCs preferred further efficient charge (e − –h + ) separation, excellent visible-light absorption, and worthy interfacial energy transfer leads between CoWO 4 and CeO 2 nanoparticles. Additionally, a plausible mechanism for the photodegradation was proposed. The synergistic antibacterial properties of the CeO 2 /CoWO 4 NCs were investigated by a gel diffusion method. Therefore, this work offers a novel avenue for the preparation of stable and efficient visible-light-driven PCs for environmental remediation.