Facile synthesis of uniform hierarchical composites CuO-CeO 2 for enhanced dye removal

Abstract

The hierarchically shaped CuO-CeO₂ composites were prepared through a facile solvothermal method without using any template. The as-prepared products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and N₂ adsorption–desorption analysis. In the characterization, we found that CuO-CeO₂ composites were showed uniform size and morphology which were consisted of the secondary nanoflakes interconnected with each other. Most interestingly, the composites showed efficient performance to remove methyl blue and Congo red dyes from water with maximum adsorption capacities of 2131.24 and 1072.09 mg g⁻¹, respectively. In addition, because of their larger surface area and the unique hierarchical structures, the adsorption performance of the CuO-CeO₂ composites is much better than the materials of CuO and CeO₂.

http://ift.tt/2hVuFMp