Synthesis and characterization of CNT/Ce-TiO2 nanocomposite for phenol degradation

An innovative photocatalyst, Carbon nanotube (CNT) supported Ce-TiO2 nanocomposite was successfully synthesized via modified sol gel method and investigated in a batch reactor for abolition of phenol under UV light spectrum. Characterization of catalyst microstructure and internal properties were done by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS). Ce doping can inhibit phase transformation from anatase to rutile and eliminate the recombination of electron-hole pairs in the catalyst. The presence of CNT in TiO2 composite can both increase the photoactivity under UV and change surface properties to achieve sensitivity to visible light. The optimum mass ratio of CNT support and cerium (Ce) dopant in TiO2 was the prominent factor to harvest CNT/Ce-TiO2 photocatalyst nanocomposite. The results demonstrated that optimum mass ratio of CNT:TiO2:Ce was 0.02:1.0:0.06, which resulted in the great performance of the photocatalyst to degrade about 94% of phenol in a 50 mg/L solution in only 3 h. In this paper, dissimilar role of CNT support and Ce dopant in the TiO2 photocatalysis of phenol was also discussed.