Enhanced photocatalytic performance of Ce-doped SnO2 hollow spheres by a one-pot hydrothermal method

[Display omitted] •1. A one-step hydrothermal method was used to prepare Ce-doped SnO2 hollow spheres.•2. The prepared hollow spheres have smaller diameter and uniform distribution.•3. Ce doping improves the photocatalytic activity of SnO2 for malachite green.•4. The material has good photocatalytic stability. The pure and Ce-doped (3 wt%, 5 wt%, 7 wt%) SnO2 hollow spheres have been successfully prepared by a simple one-pot hydrothermal method. The microstructures and optical properties of as-prepared samples were characterized by different techniques, such as XRD, EDS, XPS, SEM, TEM, BET, FTIR and UV–vis DRS. The results showed that Ce ions were doped into the SnO2 lattice, and the diameter of the Ce-doped SnO2 hollow sphere was about 200–350 nm. The photocatalytic results showed that all Ce-doped SnO2 hollow spheres samples exhibited higher photocatalytic performance than pure SnO2 in the degradation of malachite green (MG) under UV light. The 3 wt% Ce-doped SnO2 hollow spheres photocatalyst has the highest photocatalytic activity, and the degradation efficiency of MG reaches 92% after UV light irradiation 120 min. However, the degradation efficiency of pure SnO2 is only 63%. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of Ce-doped SnO2 can be attributed to the formed defects caused by Ce doped can further inhibit the electron–hole recombination. In addition, the hollow structure of Ce-doped SnO2 also enable reactant molecules to reach the reactive site more efficiently. A plausible photocatalytic mechanism was proposed for the degradation of MG under UV light irradiation.