Preparation of Ni-Doped CeFeO₃ by Microwave Process and Its Visible-Light Photocatalytic Activity

Using Ce(NO₃)₃· 6H₂O, Fe(NO₃)₃· 9H₂O and Ni(NO₃)₃· 6H₂O as the main raw materials, nano Ni-doped CeFeO₃ was prepared by the microwave method for the first time. The Ni-doped CeFeO₃samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, DRS and EDS. The results show that Ni-doped CeFeO₃exhibits a perovskite structure (ABO₃), and contains nanosheets less than 10 nm thick. The prepared nanosheets have an optical band gap of 1.93 eV. The effect of different doping amounts on the photocatalytic properties of Ni-doped CeFeO₃ was studied under visible light, using methyl-orange. When the concentration of the methyl-orange solution was 10 mg/L, and the illumination time allowed for photocatalysis was 90 min, the degradation rate rose to nearly 98%. Moreover, Ni-doped CeFeO₃ has a higher photocatalytic activity than pure CeFeO₃ powder, making it suitable for a broad range of applications.