Title: Solvothermal synthesis of nano-CeO₂ and degradation of dye in indoor lighting

Authors: Bin Zhao; Mingjie Gu; Chengqiang Li; Xiaozhen Song; Ruixing Li

Addresses: Key Laboratory of Aerospace Materials and Performance (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beihang University 37 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China ' Key Laboratory of Aerospace Materials and Performance (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beihang University 37 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China ' Key Laboratory of Aerospace Materials and Performance (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beihang University 37 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China ' Key Laboratory of Aerospace Materials and Performance (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beihang University 37 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China ' Key Laboratory of Aerospace Materials and Performance (Ministry of Education), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beihang University 37 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China

Abstract: Azo dyes are an abundant class of synthetic, organic compounds containing one or more azo bonds (-N=N-). A large amount of these dyes are produced for using in different applications. However, their complex structure makes them difficult to biologically degrade. We sought to degrade acid orange 7 (AO7) using nitrogen-doped (N-doped) and carbon-nitrogen (C-N) co-doped nano-CeO₂. N-doped monocrystalline CeO₂ nanoparticles was synthesised by solvothermal method using triethanolamine as a nitrogen source at 120°C for 24 h. C-N co-doped monocrystalline CeO₂ nanoparticles were synthesised by solvothermal method using hexamethylenetetramine as both nitrogen and carbon source at 140°C for 24 h. For purposes of comparison, a sample of undoped CeO₂ was synthesised using the dopant of neither triethanolamine nor hexamethylenetetramine. The doped and undoped CeO₂ monocrystals were all less than 10 nm in diameter. Nitrogen and carbon-nitrogen were shown to be incorporated into CeO₂ lattice from the results of both XRD and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses. The degradation of AO7 in water was investigated using a domestic 10 W compact fluorescent lamp. The results showed the degradation ratios of AO7 in the presence of nano-CeO₂ in the sequence of: C-N co-doped CeO₂ > N-doped CeO₂ >> undoped CeO₂, corresponding to magnitudes of 98.8%, 97.6%, and 48.2%, respectively.

Keywords: dye degradation; nanoparticles; solvothermal synthesis; ceria; cerium oxide; nano CeO2; nanotechnology; azo dyes; indoor lighting; acid orange 7; AO7; nitrogen doping; carbon-nitrogen doping.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNT.2014.060578

International Journal of Nanotechnology, 2014 Vol.11 No.5/6/7/8, pp.563 - 572

Published online: 15 Dec 2014 *

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