Electrospinning preparation of p-type NiO/n-type CeO2 heterojunctions with enhanced photocatalytic activity

Abstract Novel p-type NiO/n-type CeO 2 heterojunctions, with cubic NiO particles embedded on the CeO 2 nanofibers, were successfully prepared by the electrospinning technique. The photocatalytic activity for MB degradation under UV light irradiation of the NiO/CeO 2 heterojunction is much higher than that of pure NiO or CeO 2 . The rate constant of MB degradation by NiO/CeO 2 is about 4 times and 2 times than those of pure NiO and CeO 2 under UV light irradiation, respectively. The excellent photocatalytic activity of the NiO/CeO 2 heterostructures is closely related to the fast transfer and efficient separation of electron–hole pairs between NiO and CeO 2 due to the formation of the heterojunction and their matching band positions.