Synthesis and Characterization of Highly Photocatalytic Active Ce and Cu co-Doped Novel Spray Pyrolysis Developed MoO₃ Films for Photocatalytic Degradation of Eosin-Y Dye

The current work deals with the fabrication of novel MoO₃ nanostructured films with Ce and Cu co-doping through the spray pyrolysis route on a glass substrate maintained at 460^◦C for the first time. The phase of developed films was approved by an X-ray diffraction study, and the crystallite size was determined between 82 and 92 nm. The optical transmission of the developed films was noticed to be reduced with doping and found between 45 and 90% for all films, and the absorption edge shifted to a higher wavelength with doping. The optical energy gap of the fabricated films was found to be reduced from 3.85 to 3.28 eV with doping. The developed films were used to degrade the harmful Eosin-Y dye under UV light. The system with 2% Ce and 1% Cu-doped MoO₃ turned out to be the most effective catalyst for photodegradation of the dye in a period of 3H and almost degrade it. Hence, the MoO₃ films prepared with 2% Ce and 1% Cu will be highly applicable as photocatalysts for the removal of hazardous dye from wastewater.