Plasma-modified cerium oxide nanocatalyst for atmospheric pressure plasma degradation of methylene blue

A novel approach in the field of heterogeneous catalysis is presented in this research, focusing on organic compound degradation using CeO2. 2 . The catalyst was activated with plasma, producing active oxygen species from the water medium. CeO2 2 nanoparticles were synthesized using the chemical precipitation method and modified by a plasma treatment at atmospheric pressure. The untreated and plasma-treated nanostructures were analyzed using UV-VIS, Raman XRD, XPS spectroscopy, and TEM. The CeO2 2 Band Gap was modified with plasma from 3.31 eV to 2.85 eV. Raman and XRD spectroscopy found defects in the crystal lattice caused by oxygen vacancies, affecting the CeO2 2 surface reduction of Ce4+ 4 + to Ce3+. 3 + . XPS confirmed the Ce3+ 3 + content of 10 % to 18.5 % for untreated and plasma-treated CeO2, 2 , respectively. The percentage of degradation at 30 min was 50 % using plasma, 80 % in synergy with CeO2, 2 , and 90 % with CeO2 2 modified with plasma, indicating that the increase in degradation in the first minutes is due to the decomposition of H2O2 2 O 2 in their CeO2 2 active sites.