Synthesis and characterization of La1-xCexNiO3 with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activities

A series of La1-xCexNiO3 photocatalysts with different content of cerium element have been synthesized by sol-gel method. The as-prepared products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The photocatalytic activities of these La1-xCexNiO3 composites under visible-light irradiation were evaluated by the degradation of methyl orange (MO). The effect of important operational parameters such as catalyst amount, reaction temperature, irradiation time, and comparison of photocatalytic activity with different dyes including methyl orange, alizarin red, alizarin yellow, xylenol orange were also studied. The results revealed that the La0.8Ce0.2NiO3 (LCNO) composites exhibited much higher photocatalytic activities than pure LaNiO3 (LNO).