Facile CeO 2 Nanoparticles Deposition on Si-nanowires: Application to the Rhodamine B Photodegradation under Visible Light

In this work, cerium dioxide nano-particles (CeO2-NPs) were deposited by chemical electroless deposition process on silicon nanowires (Si-NWs) elaborated by metal-assisted chemical etching. The obtained thin films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL), X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) and UV–Vis spectrophotometry. The Si-NWs/CeO2-NPs films were successfully applied as photocatalysts for the oxidation of Rhodamine B (Rh B), a recalcitrant dye under visible irradiation. The films showed a higher photocatalytic performance with a quasi-total discoloration within 75 min against only 67