Effect of the ratio ZnO: ZrO2 on the photocatalytic ability of phenol degradation in ZnO-ZrO2 nanocompsite materials

Abstract

The ZnO-ZrO₂ nanocompsite materials in the molar ratio (1:0; 1:1; 1:2; 2:1; 3:4; 4:3; 0:1) were prepared by a two-stage precipitation method with ultrasonic vibrations. The obtained ZnO-ZrO₂ materials were characterized by XRD, SEM, UV-vis. XRD data identified phase of the ZnO and phase of ZrO₂ in all obtained samples. The average crystallite size of the samples was between 18 to 30 nm. As UV-Vis spectra, the band gap of ZnO-ZrO₂ composite (ZZ34R) is 3,06eV. The photocatalytic reactions confirmed that the nanocomposite sample showed higher photocatalytic activity than the pure oxides samples for the degradation phenol under 100W incandescent lamp. Among the prepared samples, the best sample for photocatalytic degration of phenol is the ZZ34R which the molar ratio ZnO:ZrO₂ = 3:4 with 23% remaining phenol content after 300 minutes. The photodegradation phenol of sample with ultrasonic vibrations is higher than the sample without ultrasonic vibrations. This indicates that the materials are capable of treating phenol in wastewater.