Transition metal doped CeO(2) for photocatalytic removal of 2-chlorophenol in the exposure of indoor white light and antifungal activity

Besides natural sunlight and expensive artificial lights, economical indoor white light can play a significant role in activating a catalyst for photocatalytic removal of organic toxins from contaminated water. In the current effort, CeO(2) has been modified with Ni, Cu, and Fe through doping methodology to study the removal of 2-chlorophenol (2-CP) in the illumination of 70 W indoor LED white light. The absence of additional diffractions due to the dopants and few changes such as reduction in peaks’ height, minor peak shift at 2θ (28.525°) and peaks’ broadening in XRD patterns of modified CeO(2) verifies the successful doping of CeO(2). The solid-state absorption spectra revealed higher absorbance of Cu-doped CeO(2) whereas a lower absorption response was observed for Ni-doped CeO(2). An interesting observation regarding the lowering of indirect bandgap energy of Fe-doped CeO(2) (∼2.7 eV) and an increase in Ni-doped CeO(2) (∼3.0 eV) in comparison to pristine CeO(2) (∼2.9 eV) was noticed. The process of e ( - )– h ( + ) recombination in the synthesized photocatalysts was also investigated through photoluminescence spectroscopy. The photocatalytic studies revealed the greater photocatalytic activity of Fe-doped CeO(2) with a higher rate (∼3.9 × 10(−3) min(-1)) among all other materials. Moreover, kinetic studies also revealed the validation of the Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic model (R(2) = 0.9839) while removing 2-CP in the exposure of indoor light with a Fe-doped CeO(2) photocatalyst. The XPS analysis revealed the existence of Fe(3+), Cu(2+) and Ni(2+) core levels in doped CeO(2). Using the agar well-diffusion method, the antifungal activity was assessed against the fungus M. fructicola and F. oxysporum. Compared to CeO(2), Ni-doped CeO(2), and Cu-doped CeO(2) nanoparticles, the Fe-doped CeO(2) nanoparticles have outstanding antifungal properties.