CeO2–Mn3O4 Solid Solutions With Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity Toward Degradation of Phenolic Compounds

Abstract In the present study, Mn 3 O 4 , CeO 2 , and their two solid solutions (10Ce–Mn 3 O 4 and 10Mn–CeO 2 ), synthesized by means of coprecipitation method, are investigated for UV light driven photocatalytic degradation of phenolic compounds. The two substituted nanocatalysts, 10Ce–Mn 3 O 4 and 10Mn–CeO 2 , possess higher surface area, reduced bandgap, and distorted coordination environments compared to bare Mn 3 O 4 and CeO 2 , respectively, as indicated by Rietveld refinement of PXRD data, BET, UV, and Raman analysis. 10Ce–Mn 3 O 4 shows the best catalytic activity toward phenol degradation, which has been optimized to achieve promising performance of about 89.3% phenol degradation in 7 h UV irradiation at pH 3, 0.27 g L −1 catalyst dosage, and 25 ppm initial phenol concentration. Density of state (DOS) calculations support the observed catalytic activity trends, which show that on hetero atom substitution, bandgaps of 10Ce–Mn 3 O 4 and 10Mn–CeO 2 reduce owing to the incorporation of new energy level at the interband region. 10Ce–Mn 3 O 4 exhibits promising activity retention up to fifth recycle. 10Ce–Mn 3 O 4 is also tested for photodegradation 2,4‐dichlorophenol (2,4‐DCP), which shows very high degradation efficiency of 97.5%. Thus, this study points out a promising photocatalytic efficiency of 10Ce–Mn 3 O 4 toward the degradation of organic pollutants present in wastewater.