Bioinspired Synthesis of Ce1–xO2:x%Cu2+ Nanobelts for CO Oxidation and Organic Dye Degradation

Ce1–xO2:x%Cu2+ nanobelts were bioinspired, designed, and fabricated using commercial filter papers as scaffolds by adding Cu(NO3)2 in the original sol solution of CeO2 nanobelts, which display excellent catalyst properties for CO oxidation and photocatalytic activity for organic dyes. Compared with pure CeO2, CuO belts were synthesized using the same method and the corresponding Ce0.5O2:50%Cu2+ bulk materials were synthesized without filter paper as scaffolds; the synthesized Ce1–xO2:x%Cu2+ nanobelts, especially Ce0.5O2:50%Cu2+ nanobelts, can decrease the reaction temperature of CO to CO2 at 100 °C with the conversion rate of 100%, much lower than the formerly reported kinds of Ce1–xO2:x%Cu2+ catalysts. Meanwhile, the synthesized Ce1–xO2:x%Cu2+ nanobelts also display better photocatalytic activity for organic dyes. All of these results provide useful information for the potential applications of the synthesized Ce1–xO2:x%Cu2+ nanobelts in catalyst fields.