TY - JOUR AU - Al-Shehri, H.S. AU - Patel, M.S. AU - Alwera, S. AU - Talismanov, V.S. AU - Alwera, V. AU - Macadangdang Jr., R.R. PY - 2022/02/14 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Photocatalytic Degradation of Rhodamine B Dye by Using Tin-Doped CeO2-Fe2O3 Nanocomposite JF - Asian Journal of Chemistry JA - ajc VL - 34 IS - 3 SE - Articles DO - 10.14233/ajchem.2022.23578 UR - https://asianpubs.org/index.php/ajchem/article/view/34_3_28 SP - 673-680 AB - <p style="text-align: justify;">Organic dyes are frequently used in various industries such as textiles, medicines, plastics, <em>etc.</em> and contribute as a major source of environmental pollutants, which leads to harmful effects on livings. Therefore, in this study, a Sn-doped CeO<sub>2</sub>-Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> photocatalyst was synthesized using the thermal decomposition method and applied for the effective degradation and removal of rhodamine B dye under solar irradiation. The as-synthesized catalyst was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and UV-vis diffuse reflectance (UV-vis DRS) techniques. The particle size of the photocatalyst was found 1-2 μm with a high surface area. The band gap energies of the catalyst narrowed to 2.2 eV after the Sn doping. The doping of Sn<sup>4+</sup> ions into CeO<sub>2</sub> lattice leads to the enhanced photocatalytic activity of CeO<sub>2</sub>-Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> composite by modified the Fermi levels of catalyst. The catalyst has shown a fast degradation rate under solar irradiance and is able to perform complete degradation of rhodamine B dye. The photocatalyst showed the COD removal up to 96% from the dye solution. Further, the scavenger test revealed the active species hydroxyl (<sup><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·</span></sup>OH) and superoxide (O<sub>2</sub><sup><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·-</span></sup>) radical are involved in the degradation of rhodamine B dye. The complete degradation of rhodamine B dye was studied and confirmed by high-performance liquid chromatography. A plausible mechanism is proposed for the degradation process and charge transfer during the degradation.</p> ER -