Band gap engineering of CeO2 nanostructure using an electrochemically active biofilm for visible light applications

Abstract

Narrowing the optical band gap of cerium oxide (CeO₂) nanostructures is essential for visible light applications. This paper reports a green approach to enhance the visible light photocatalytic activity of pure CeO₂ nanostructures (p-CeO₂) through defect-induced band gap narrowing using an electrochemically active biofilm (EAB). X-ray diffraction, UV-visible diffuse reflectance/absorption spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy confirmed the defect-induced band gap narrowing of the CeO₂ nanostructure (m-CeO₂). The structural, optical, photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical properties also revealed the presence of structural defects caused by the reduction of Ce⁴⁺ to Ce³⁺ as well as an increase in the number of oxygen vacancies. The as-modified CeO₂ (m-CeO₂) nanostructure exhibited substantially enhanced, visible light-driven photoactivity for the degradation of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and methylene blue (MB) compared to the p-CeO₂ nanostructure. The enhancement in visible light performance was attributed to defects (Ce³⁺ and oxygen vacancy), resulting in band gap narrowing and a high separation efficiency of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. Photoelectrochemical investigations also showed a significantly-enhanced separation efficiency of the photogenerated electron–hole charge carriers in the m-CeO₂ nanostructure under visible light irradiation. The DC electrical conductivity of m-CeO₂ showed higher electrical conductivity than p-CeO₂ under ambient conditions. This study provides a new biogenic method for developing narrow band gap semiconductor nanostructures for efficient visible light driven photocatalysis and photoelectrode applications.