Síntese, caracterização e avaliação daspropriedades fotocatalíticas de óxidos de titânio nanoestruturados com incorporação de cério

Abstract

The environmental effects of toxic industrial waste have considerably increasedin last decades. Great attention has been employed to water contamination, due to its importance for life in Earth and also, because 70% of Earth s surface is formed by water. Heterogeneous photocatalysis arises as a good alternative in the remediation of damages caused by the effluents. Nanostructured semiconductors oxides, like that formed by cerium and titanium are extensively studied owing to their optoelectronic properties and, chemical and thermal stability. Few changes in the structure and morphology of these materials may refine the properties and increase the efficiency of the systems. Herein, is crucial the obtainment of systems with morphology and composition finely controlled, with subsequent evaluation of the relationship between the observed structural features and optical and electronic properties of solids. The goal of this study is to synthesize new nanomaterials containing titanium and cerium, with potential UV and/or UV-Vis absorptivity in order to apply them in the photocatalysis of pollutants. The titanium oxide containing cerium (0.5 - 50%) will be obtained by Sol-Gel methodology in a reflux system; and characterized concerning their structural (FTIR, Raman, XRD, TGA and BET), morphology (SEM) and optical properties (UV-Vis DRS); furthermore, a photocatalytic study will be performer to evaluate the degradation of dyes in the presence of the oxides and solar radiation (simulated)