Efficient photodegradation of methylene blue dye using cerium-doped titanium dioxide (Ce@TiO₂) photocatalyst under visible light irradiation

Water pollution is one of the important threats nowadays, to meet the difficulties several studies are being processed. This work aims to improve water quality by breaking dye components from the waste effluents of textile industries. Methylene blue (MB) widely used textile colorant brings several health issues to all living categories aquatic and terrestrial, including humans. All new syntheses of Cerium-doped Titanium dioxide (Ce@TiO₂) nanoparticles have been achieved and proven to be a super-efficient photocatalyst for the photodegradation of MB in wastewater samples. This photocatalyst was prepared using the sol-gel technique without any hazardous chemicals in moderate conditions. The formation of Ce@TiO₂ is confirmed by different characterization using XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDS, and HR-TEM analysis. The photocatalytic efficiency of Ce@TiO₂ photocatalyst is carried out with varying parameters such as pH, contact time, photocatalyst dose, and MB concentration. Ce@TiO₂ is an effective photocatalyst for MB degradation from wastewater at optimized conditions with 92 % removal within 90 min of reaction time. The degradation kinetics follow a pseudo-first-order model, with a rate constant (K) of 0.027min⁻¹, while achieving a remarkable total organic carbon elimination of over 90.0 %. Furthermore, the reusability test showcased the remarkable stability of Ce@TiO₂ over four cycles, with only a minor decline (<8 %) observed in MB degradation efficiency.