In this communication, CeO2 microspheres have been firstly synthesized via a facile catalytic oxidation
method under room temperature. The morphology and structure of the synthesized material were
characterized by FESEM and XRD, respectively. The synthesis mechanism could be attributed to the
catalysis of Agþ in the reaction system. The synthesized material exhibited good photocatalytic activity
for the degradation of acid orange 7 (AO 7) under solar light irradiation, and the pseudo-first order
reaction rate constant (k) of 0.005 min−1 for CeO2 microspheres is higher than 0.002 min−1 of
commercial TiO2 P25. The synthesized material could be useful as a solar-light-driven photocatalyst
for decomposing organic compounds.