Bioinspired Synthesis of Ce(1–x)O(2):x%Cu(2+) Nanobelts for CO Oxidation and Organic Dye Degradation

[Image: see text] Ce(1–x)O(2):x%Cu(2+) nanobelts were bioinspired, designed, and fabricated using commercial filter papers as scaffolds by adding Cu(NO(3))(2) in the original sol solution of CeO(2) nanobelts, which display excellent catalyst properties for CO oxidation and photocatalytic activity for organic dyes. Compared with pure CeO(2), CuO belts were synthesized using the same method and the corresponding Ce(0.5)O(2):50%Cu(2+) bulk materials were synthesized without filter paper as scaffolds; the synthesized Ce(1–x)O(2):x%Cu(2+) nanobelts, especially Ce(0.5)O(2):50%Cu(2+) nanobelts, can decrease the reaction temperature of CO to CO(2) at 100 °C with the conversion rate of 100%, much lower than the formerly reported kinds of Ce(1–x)O(2):x%Cu(2+) catalysts. Meanwhile, the synthesized Ce(1–x)O(2):x%Cu(2+) nanobelts also display better photocatalytic activity for organic dyes. All of these results provide useful information for the potential applications of the synthesized Ce(1–x)O(2):x%Cu(2+) nanobelts in catalyst fields.