Synthesis of Nanocomposite CeO_2:SiO_2: Highly Efficient Photocatalysts for Degradation of Industrial Waste Dyes

Nanocrystalline UV light-induced composite CeO_2:SiO_2 with high surface area and low bandgap energy were prepared in order to assess the photocatalytic degradation of the target pollutant (mixture of dyes). The complete mineralization of target dye pollutants (30 ppm) occurred within 150 min. when CeO_2:SiO_2 catalyst with optimum loading 0.4 g was used. Overall, the present system is economical, reproducible, and highly efficient. Further, the comparative study on photocatalytic efficiency of SiO_2 and CeO_2 was compared with composite CeO_2:SiO_2. The effect of various operational parameters used in degradation like concentration of dye, amount of photocatalyst, and various catalysts has been studied on the rate of reaction. The recyclability of the photocatalyst, CeO_2:SiO_2 was performed up to four runs. The photodegradation of wastewater pollutants was occurred in nearly 96 % using CeO_2:SiO_2 nanoparticles. The removal of wastewater pollutants was confirmed by UV spectrophotometer by diminishing the absorbance to zero within 120 min using CeO_2:SiO_2 nanoparticles. The synthesized catalyst was characterized by various analytical investigative techniques like UV-DRS, FTIR, XRD, SEM, TEM, and BET.