Enhanced Visible-Light Photocatalytic Activity of C/Ce-Codoped ZnO Nanoellipsoids Synthesized by Hydrothermal Method

C/Ce-codoped ZnO nanomaterial has been synthesized by a hydrothermal method and its physical properties and characterization investigated using thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The photocatalytic activity of the nanomaterial was examined using methylene blue as organic dye under visible-light source. The results show that the C/Ce-codoped ZnO nanomaterial exhibited higher photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation compared with undoped ZnO, Ce-doped ZnO or C-doped ZnO nanomaterials. Such enhancement of the photocatalytic activity of C/Ce-codoped ZnO under visible-light irradiation suggests that these nanoparticles might have good applications in optoelectronics and wastewater treatment.