Aqueous and organic media assisted Ce: ZrO2 nanoparticles by precipitation and its structural, morphological, optical, and catalytic activities

Abstract

Ce: ZrO2 nanoparticles with various shaped morphologies were observed by precipitation method in different solvents like water, butanol, and methanol. The synthesized samples were characterized by different analyses and all other relevant physical parameters values were calculated such as stress, strain, and energy density. Under UV light irradiation, the photodegradation of synthesized samples exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity with the Total Organic Carbon (TOC) study, It also explained the reaction mechanism is sensitization of the organic molecule on Ce: ZrO2 for its mineralization. It was found that water, butanol, and methanol mediated Ce: ZrO2 catalyst played important roles in the particle size, morphologies, optical and electrochemical properties.