Ti3+-TiO2/Ce3+-CeO2 Nanosheet heterojunctions as efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysts
Highlights: • A novel Ti{sup 3+}-TiO{sub 2}/Ce{sup 3+}-CeO{sub 2} nanosheet heterojunction is fabricated. • It owns the bandgap of 2.6 eV and extends the photoresponse to visible light region. • It exhibits excellent visible-light-driven photocatalytic performance. • It is due to synergy of Ti{sup 3+}, Ce{sup 3+} co-doping and nanosheet heterojunction. - Abstract: Novel Ti{sup 3+}-TiO{sub 2}/Ce{sup 3+}-CeO{sub 2} nanosheet heterojunctions are successfully prepared via a facile hydrothermal approach combined with a wet-chemical deposition precipitation and an in situ solid-state chemical reduction strategy. The structures of the as-prepared samples are characterized in detail by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The results show that Ti{sup 3+} and Ce{sup 3+} are both doped into the lattice of TiO{sub 2} and CeO{sub 2}, respectively, which narrow the band gap to 2.7 eV and extend the photoresponse to visible light region. The photocatalytic degradation rate of methyl orange and methylene blue are as high as 93.3% and 97.1% under visible-light illumination, respectively. The high degradation rate is attributed to the efficient doping of Ti{sup 3+} and Ce{sup 3+}, formation of surface oxygen vacancy and heterojunction, which favors the absorption of visible light and separation of photogenerated charge carriers.