Superior photocatalytic disinfection effect of Ag-3D ordered mesoporous CeO2 under visible light

Ordered mesoporous Ag/CeO 2 nanocomposites were prepared by combining nanocasting with photo-assisted reduction. The heterogeneous photoreactivity of the prepared samples was tested for inactivating Escherichia coli ( E. coli ). These mesoporous Ag/CeO 2 nanocomposites exhibited superior photocatalytic disinfection efficiency than mesoporous CeO 2 and bulk CeO 2 , respectively. Doping Ag species could extend the absorption range to visible light area and enhance the concentration of Ce 3+ ions and oxygen vacancies, which had significant influence on the surface properties of CeO 2 . Moreover, it is the first time to verify that created midgap states through doping Ag can significantly lower the threshold of incident photon energy and broaden the adsorption spectrum demonstrated by experimental studies and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The enhanced disinfection mechanism was attributed to the fact that the novel mesoporous structure can promote the mass transfer process and the interfacial interaction between Ag species and CeO 2 and lead to reduced recombination of free charges, rapid separation and transportation of photogenerated electrons-holes. This work provides a new method to develop novel mesoporous plasmonic photocatlysts for disinfection using solar radiation.