Effect of rare-earth metal ion Ce3+ on the structural, optical and photocatalytic properties of CdO nanoparticles

In this present work, effects of cerium (Ce)-doped CdO nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by simple chemical precipitation methods. The as-formed CdO-NPs were characterized by crystal structure (XRD), surface morphology (SEM), elemental composition (EDX), functional groups (FTIR) and optical spectroscopy (UV-DRS and PL) analysis. The XRD indicated cubic in structure of CdO-NPs that were as well crystallized with an averaged particle size of 28–33 nm. The SEM images show concise structure of CdO-NPs, and EDX spectrum revealed the presence of cerium. FTIR spectra show the fundamental peaks of CdO in the sample. The optical properties showed that the two emission peaks were recorded at 418 and 439 nm upon excited at 360 nm. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency of methyl orange dye, i.e., 93% at the optimum content of Ce 3+ -doped (5%) CdO-NPs.