Engineering heterojunction of multi-morphologies and bifunctional hybrid rGO-V2O5 embedded CeO2 nanostructures for robust visible-light-driven dye degradation and supercapacitor

Abstract

Background

The photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants utilizing advanced semiconductor materials has attracted significant attention for achieving pollutant-free water systems. Assessing the photocatalytic properties of materials for energy storage applications within the framework of designing a singular material capable of fulfilling multiple functions.

Methods

The fabrication of a ternary nanostructured heterojunction photocatalyst composed of rGO, V₂O₅, and CeO₂ developed through a facile solvothermal process. Systematic investigations of rGO-V₂O₅-CeO₂ (rG-V-C) photocatalysts were conducted by varying catalyst compositions, doses, and pH levels.

Significant Findings

The nanostructured rG-V-C enhances the surface properties of photocatalyst, which creates abundant active sites, and significantly facilitate charge carrier transfer for boosting dye degradation efficiency. The optimal rG-V-C-1 catalyst demonstrated remarkable photocatalytic performance, achieving 94.15 % rhodamine B (RhB) degradation under visible-light irradiation within 90 min. Scavenger tests indicated that generating O₂^•− and ^•OH radicals is the primary mechanism for enhanced RhB degradation. The excellent photocatalytic performance of rG-V-C composite is attributed to compelling synergy, which prevents photogenerated electron-hole recombination, and enhances charge separation and transfer. Furthermore, the rG-V-C composite showed efficient supercapacitor performances due to the existence of a synergetic effect via effective interaction between each compound in the composite structure (462 F/g at 1A g⁻¹ in a 1MLiClO₄-PC).