Preparation and Characterization of CeO2-C60 Nanocomposites and Their Application to Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Dyes

摘要： Cerium oxide nanoparticles were prepared by the reaction of cerium nitrate hexahydrate and sodium hydroxide. Cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (C19H42NBr) was added as a templating agent. The yellow precipitate obtained by the reaction was calcined with fullerene (C60) for 2 h at 700 °C in an electric furnace to synthesize CeO2-C60 nanocomposites. The synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the CeO2-C60 nanocomposites for the degradation of organic dyes such as methylene blue, brilliant green, rhodamine B and methyl orange upon irradiation with 254 nm UV light was investigated using a UV-visible spectrophotometer.