Improvement in TiO2 photocatalytic performance by ZrO2 nanocompositing and immobilizing

Abstract

In this work, the effect of addition of ZrO2 to TiO2 and catalyst geometry on photocatalytic properties of the nanocomposite TiO2/ZrO2 was investigated. The traditional use of powdery photocatalyst for the degradation of organic compounds has post-treatment problems which means much higher time and costs. A novel method to minimize these problems is immobilization by insertion onto an inert substrate. Several geometries of TiO2–10%ZrO2 (T-10Z) nano-photocatalysts (powder, fiber, film, and network-shaped) were produced using different templates. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, and diffuse reflectance UV–vis spectra. Photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange in water was examined using TiO2/ZrO2 composites and T-10Z geometries under UV irradiation. The T-10Z with a band gap of 3.10 eV showed higher degradation than the other composites. The degradation rate of the four geometries produced was in the following order: powder > network > film > fiber. The rate constant of the dye degradation reaction when contacting with powdery and network composites were 0.019 and 0.013 min−1, respectively. Network geometry with lower kinetic effects was preferred due to its indisputably higher immobility.