1. Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Dongguk University‐Seoul, 100715, Seoul, South Korea;2. Department of Nanoscience and Technology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641046, India
Abstract:
Three‐dimensional (3D) CeO2 micropillows were synthesized by using solvothermal method. The pH of the precursor solution was adjusted to 10 by adding ammonium hydroxide. The structural, morphology and compositional characteristics of CeO2 micropillows were investigated by XRD, SEM, TEM and EDAX. XRD analysis showed the formation of CeO2 micropillows. BET analysis showed high specific surface area for the synthesized CeO2 micropillows (191 m2 g–1). Optical absorption of CeO2 micropillows showed enhanced photoabsorption ability with the estimated band gap energy of 2.8 eV. The photodegradation rate of the CeO2micropillows was found to be 87% and obeys pseudo‐first‐order equation. The photocatalytic results indicated that the CeO2 micropillows exhibit enhanced photocatalytic property towards azo dye acid orange 7 (AO7) under UV–Vis light illumination.