This study has widely described the fabrication and performance of a series of Ag–CeO2 Schottky plasmonic photocatalysts under visible light irradiation. A conventional wetness incipient impregnation technique has been utilized to load Ag metal on the surface of CeO2 nanoparticles synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The as-synthesized photocatalysts have been identified using combined characterizations of XRD, FTIR, FESEM, EDS, TEM and UV–Vis DRS. The photocatalytic activity of as-synthesized samples has been investigated in terms of degradation efficiency of methylene blue (MB) as a function of involved operating factors including irradiation photon energy, irradiation time, pH, initial MB concentration, photocatalyst dose and amount of loaded Ag. All of the Ag–CeO2 samples have exhibited higher photocatalytic efficiencies than pure CeO2 with the order of 8%-Ag–CeO2 > 5%-Ag–CeO2 > 2%-Ag–CeO2 > pure CeO2. The enhanced photocatalytic activity has been ascribed to the improved light absorption toward visible irradiation photons due to the surface plasmon resonance, supported by the DRS results. A Schottky scheme photocatalytic mechanism that highlights charge transfer pattern has been developed for photodegradation rate. Photocatalytic process kinetics has been found to obey the pseudo-first-order expression according to the Langmuir–Hinshelwood model.

中文翻译：

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提高 Ag-CeO2 肖特基型接触异质结构的可见光诱导光催化活性

该研究广泛描述了一系列 Ag-CeO2 肖特基等离子体光催化剂在可见光照射下的制备和性能。传统的湿初始浸渍技术已被用于在通过水热法合成的 CeO2 纳米粒子表面负载银金属。使用 XRD、FTIR、FESEM、EDS、TEM 和 UV-Vis DRS 的组合表征鉴定了合成的光催化剂。研究了合成样品的光催化活性，研究了亚甲蓝 (MB) 的降解效率作为相关操作因素的函数，包括辐照光子能量、辐照时间、pH、初始 MB 浓度、光催化剂剂量和负载的 Ag 量. 所有的 Ag-CeO2 样品都表现出比纯 CeO2 更高的光催化效率，顺序为 8%-Ag-CeO2 > 5%-Ag-CeO2 > 2%-Ag-CeO2 > 纯 CeO2。增强的光催化活性归因于由于表面等离子体共振而对可见光辐射光子的光吸收改善，这得到了 DRS 结果的支持。已经开发了一种强调电荷转移模式的肖特基方案光催化机制以提高光降解率。根据 Langmuir-Hinshelwood 模型，光催化过程动力学符合伪一级表达式。DRS 结果支持。已经开发了一种强调电荷转移模式的肖特基方案光催化机制以提高光降解率。根据 Langmuir-Hinshelwood 模型，光催化过程动力学符合伪一级表达式。DRS 结果支持。已经开发了一种强调电荷转移模式的肖特基方案光催化机制以提高光降解率。根据 Langmuir-Hinshelwood 模型，光催化过程动力学符合伪一级表达式。