Preparation of porous 3D Ce-doped ZnO microflowers with enhanced photocatalytic performance

Porous 3D Ce-doped ZnO microflowers were prepared by a hydrothermal method followed by a low temperature annealing process. The effects of Ce doping on the structural and photocatalytic properties of porous ZnO microflowers were investigated in detail. The samples were characterized using XRD, SEM, EDS, XPS, DRS, PL spectra and BET surface area measurements. According to the XRD analysis, both of the crystalline structures of the synthesized pure ZnO and Ce-doped ZnO samples are hexagonal wurtzite. The XPS results demonstrated the successful synthesis of Ce4+ doped ZnO. In addition, the SEM morphologies showed the unique porous 3D flower-like structure of the Ce-doped ZnO. Compared with the porous ZnO microflowers, the Ce-doped ZnO samples exhibit improved photocatalytic performance in the decomposition of Rhodamine B (RhB). It is proposed that the special structural feature with a porous 3D structured and Ce modification lead to the rapid photocatalytic activity of the Ce-doped ZnO microflowers.