A thermally stable mesoporous ZrO2–CeO2–TiO2 visible light photocatalyst

A thermally stable, ordered mesoporous visible light photocatalyst (Ce, Zr-codoped titania) was synthesized through an evaporation-induced self-assembly method. The crystalline phase and the meso-structural ordering of this photocatalyst were characterized through wide-angle and small-angle X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption analyses. The introduction of cerium into TiO2 extended the absorption spectrum of TiO2 to the visible region. Compared with the neat TiO2, the CeO2–TiO2 of random structure and the mesoporous CeO2–TiO2, the mesoporous ZrO2–CeO2–TiO2 had a larger surface area and a better long-range order due to the enhanced thermal stability. As a result, the mesoporous ZrO2–CeO2–TiO2, among the four photocatalysts, showed the highest photocatalytic activity to Rhodamine B upon visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic degradation pathways of Rhodamine B by the mesoporous ZrO2–CeO2–TiO2 were proposed based on product analysis. The results demonstrate that the mesoporous ZrO2–CeO2–TiO2 could be a useful visible light photocatalyst.