Sol-gel Synthesis of Cerium-doped TiO₂ Nanoparticles for the Photocatalytic Degradation of Rhodamine B and Eosin Y under UV Light
J. Environ. Nanotechnol., Volume 15, No 2 (June 2026) pp. 605-615
Abstract
The sol-gel process was used to develop Ce-doped TiO2 nanoparticles (0.03–0.09 mol% Ce), which were then calcined at 500 °C. The successful incorporation of Ce into the TiO2 lattice was verified by characterization, resulting in a notable decrease in the band gap from 3.30 to 2.06 eV. Rhodamine B (RhB) and Eosin Yellow (EY) dyes were degraded under UV light to assess the material's photocatalytic activity. With degradation efficiencies of almost 98% for RhB and 91.65% for EY, the Ce-doped TiO2 showed high performance. Improved light absorption and effective charge-carrier separation have been chosen as the sources of the increased activity. While future research should focus on visible-light photocatalysis, dopant optimization, and practical wastewater treatment applications, these results suggest the potential of Ce-doped TiO2 for environmental remediation.
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