Room-temperature synthesis of nanoceria for degradation of organophosphate pesticides and its regeneration and reuse

A simple low-temperature water-based and one-pot synthesis was developed for the preparation of nanocrystalline CeO2 that was used for degradation of the toxic organophosphate pesticide parathion methyl. By changing the reaction temperature in the range from 5 °C to 95 °C, several properties (i.e., crystallinity, grain size and surface area) of nanoceria can be easily controlled. The catalytic decomposition of parathion methyl to its degradation product 4-nitrophenol was highly dependent on the CeO2 preparation temperature. It was demonstrated that at low temperature (i.e. 5 °C), CeO2 with very small crystallites (<2 nm) and high surface area can be obtained. For practical use, it was demonstrated that highly crystalline CeO2 can be prepared at room-temperature (30 °C) in at least 100 g batches. It was shown that precipitated nanoceria had high thermal stability and its post-synthesis annealing up to 400 °C did not significantly alter the material properties and hence the catalytic activity. Furthermore, as shown by the reusability tests, the sorbent can be reactivated by simply washing with water which demonstrated its durability.