Preparation and characterization of cost-effective AC/CeO₂ nanocomposites for the degradation of selected industrial dyes

With an increasing global usage of dyes and colorants in various industries, the increase in dye contamination level in water has frequently reported. Developments of appropriate techniques for the degradation of dyes in industrial wastewater are critical and urgently required. Utilization of low-cost materials for the treatment of various dyes using an alternative driving energy could be promising in near future. In the study, activated carbon (AC) was prepared using agricultural waste (coconut shell) and utilized for designing the CeO₂/AC composites using soft chemical route. The effect of AC on the composite was studied by varying the AC and CeO₂ weight ratios, and as-prepared photocatalytic composites were characterized using suitable analytical techniques. Characterization results clearly indicated a remarkable impact of AC on porosity and surface area, surface morphology, structural and textural properties and photocatalytic activities of the composites. Complete removal of industrial dyes used in aqueous media was observed and 91.3% of degradation efficiency of organic pollutants in real-time textile industrial wastewater within 5 h under LED light source. Reusability study clearly indicated that CeO₂/AC composites could be reused up to three cycles for the removal of organic pollutants and dyes in aqueous media under visible light source as an alternative driving energy.