Structural and photocatalytic properties of co-doped hybrid ZrO2–TiO2 photocatalysts

In this study, pure TiO2, ZrO2, and hybrid ZrO2–TiO2 photocatalysts were synthesized through solgel process and calcined at three different temperatures. The synthesized photocatalysts were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Brunauer–Emmet–Teller (BET), ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectrometer, and photoluminescence (PL) spectrometer. The PXRD patterns show that the rutile phase of TiO2 was suppressed through co-doping with ZrO2 and produced small crystallite size. The hybrid photocatalysts with small crystallite size recorded the highest surface area of 114.7 m2/g compared to pure TiO2 and ZrO2 photocatalysts as confirmed by BET analysis. Irregular size and shape was observed in the hybrid photocatalysts compared to spherical shape and size in TiO2 and flaky shape in ZrO2 as shown by the FESEM images. The optical properties of the photocatalysts investigated using UV–Vis spectroscopy showed a decrease in band gap energy of pure TiO2 through linear extrapolation from the Tauc’s plot despite the slightly higher band gap energy of the hybrid photocatalysts. However, PL analysis showed that doping of ZrO2 into TiO2 increased the separation efficiency of the electron–hole pairs and enhanced the photocatalytic activity. The phenol degradation of the hybrid ZrO2–TiO2 photocatalysts was higher compared to those of the pure TiO2 and ZrO2.