Sb-Doped Cerium Molybdate: An Emerging Material as Dielectric and Photocatalyst for the Removal of Diclofenac Potassium from Aqueous Media

Abstract

This work reports the influence of antimony substitution in a cerium molybdate lattice for improved dielectric and photocatalytic properties. For this purpose, a series of Ce2−xSbx(MoO4)3 (x = 0.00, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07, and 0.09) were synthesized through a co-precipitation route. The as-synthesized materials were characterized for their optical properties, functional groups, chemical oxidation states, structural phases, surface properties, and dielectric characteristics using UV–Vis spectroscopy (UV–Vis), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopies, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, and impedance spectroscopy, respectively. UV–Vis study showed a prominent red shift of absorption maxima and a continuous decrease in band gap (3.35 eV to 2.79 eV) by increasing the dopant concentration. The presence of Ce–O and Mo–O–Mo bonds, detected via FTIR and Raman spectroscopies, are confirmed, indicating the successful synthesis of the desired material. The monoclinic phase was dominant in all materials, and the crystallite size was decreased from 40.29 nm to 29.09 nm by increasing the Sb content. A significant increase in the dielectric constant (ε′ = 2.856 × 108, 20 Hz) and a decrease in the loss tan (tanδ = 1.647, 20 Hz) were exhibited as functions of the increasing Sb concentration. Furthermore, the photocatalytic efficiency of pristine cerium molybdate was also increased by 1.24 times against diclofenac potassium by incorporating Sb (x = 0.09) in the cerium molybdate. The photocatalytic efficiency of 85.8% was achieved within 180 min of UV light exposure at optimized conditions. The photocatalytic reaction followed pseudo-first-order kinetics with an apparent rate constant of 0.0105 min−1, and the photocatalyst was recyclable with good photocatalytic activity even after five successive runs. Overall, the as-synthesized Sb-doped cerium molybdate material has proven to be a promising candidate for charge storage devices and a sustainable photocatalyst for wastewater treatment.