Group V Elements (V, Nb and Ta) Doped CeO2 Particles for Efficient Photo-Oxidation of Methylene Blue Dye

Theoretical investigations of structural, electronic, magnetic, and optical properties of group V (X = V, Nb, Ta) added CeO2-X materials for optoelectronic applications

CONTEXT

Depletion of natural resources, responsible for energy production, is a serious concern for researchers to develop alternate energy resources or materials. Scientists have proposed various energy materials which are based on semiconductors and their underlying physics. Cerium oxide (CeO2) is a versatile energy material which receives much attention owing to excellent photocatalytic, photonic, thermal stability, and optoelectronic applications. Even though CeO2 exhibited remarkable physical properties, but yet, they can be enhanced upon suitable doping. Focus on current research is to dope group V elements into CeO2 in order to enhance its electronic and optical response. The density of states (DOS) and band gaps of proposed materials are calculated, and significant improvement is noted after applying TB-mbj method. Optical absorption spectra of V/Nb/Ta-doped CeO2 show blueshift and decrease in reflectivity along with the presence of magnetism illustrate potential uses of these materials in future UV optoelectronics, spintronics, sensing, and energy harvesting devices.

METHODS

This research is based on computational work carried using Wien2k code where PBE-GGA approximation is used to approximate exchange and correlation potentials. Supercells of vanadium/niobium/tantalum-doped CeO2 are constructed, and spin-polarized density of states (DOS) along with optical constant are calculated. TB-mbj method is used to bring improvements in DOS and band gaps of proposed materials. Iterations are conducted using convergence criterion, and non-relativistic calculations are performed.

Investigation on the Structural and Photocatalytic Performance of Oxygen-Vacancy-Enriched SnO2-CeO2 Heterostructures

In this study, pure CeO2 and oxygen-vacancy-enriched SnO2-CeO2 composite materials were prepared using the sol-gel method, and their microstructures and photocatalytic properties were investigated. The results indicate that SnO2 coupling promotes the separation and transfer of photogenerated electrons and holes and suppresses their recombination. The 50% SnO2-CeO2 composite material exhibited a decreased specific surface area compared to pure CeO2 but significantly increased oxygen vacancy content, demonstrating the highest photogenerated charge separation efficiency and the best photocatalytic performance. After 120 min of illumination, the degradation degree of MB by the 50% SnO2-CeO2 composite material increased from 28.8% for pure CeO2 to 90.8%, and the first-order reaction rate constant increased from 0.002 min-1 to 0.019 min-1.

Photocatalytic Synthesis of Materials for Regenerative Medicine Using Complex Oxides with β-pyrochlore Structure

Graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate onto cod collagen was carried out under visible light irradiation (λ = 400-700 nm) at 20-25 °C using the RbTe_1.5W_0.5O₆, CsTeMoO₆, and RbNbTeO₆ complex oxides with β-pyrochlore structure as photocatalysts. The as-prepared materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. It was also found that RbNbTeO₆ with β-pyrochlore structure was not able to photocatalyze the reaction. Enzymatic hydrolysis of the obtained graft copolymers proceeds with the formation of peptides with a molecular weight (MW) of about 20 and 10 kDa. In contrast to collagen, which decomposes predominantly to peptides with MW of about 10 kDa, the ratio of fractions with MW of about 10 kDa and 20 kDa differs much less, their changes are symbatic, and the content of polymers with MW of more than 20 kDa is about 70% after 1 h in the case of graft copolymers. The data obtained indicate that synthetic fragments grafted to the collagen macromolecule do not prevent the hydrolysis of the peptide bonds but change the rate of polymer degradation. This is important for creating network matrix scaffolds based on graft copolymers by cross-linking peptides, which are products of enzymatic hydrolysis.