TY - JOUR
T1 - Photocatalytic degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol on ZrO2–TiO2
T2 - influence of crystal size, surface area, and energetic states
AU - Guerrero-Araque, Diana
AU - Ramírez-Ortega, David
AU - Acevedo-Peña, Próspero
AU - Zanella, Rodolfo
AU - Gómez, Ricardo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2020/2/1
Y1 - 2020/2/1
N2 - ZrO2–TiO2 heterostructure with 5 mol% of ZrO2 was synthesized by the sol–gel method and calcined at different temperatures (300–600 °C). The photocatalysts were characterized by thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, physisorption of N2, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity was tested for the removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol under ultraviolet irradiation, being the materials exhibiting the best performance those calcined at 400 °C and 500 °C with 99% and 98% of degradation, respectively, after 150 min under irradiation. This behavior was related to a smaller crystallite size, higher surface area, and significant hydroxyl radicals produced. The (photo)electrochemical study showed that temperatures of 400 °C and 500 °C also generated an optimum amount of energetic states that act as electron traps and decrease the electron–hole pair recombination, favoring the oxidation of 2,4-dichlorophenol. However, at 300 °C and 600 °C, these energetic states act as an energy barrier that reduces the effective charge transfer and therefore decreases the photocatalytic activity of the materials.
AB - ZrO2–TiO2 heterostructure with 5 mol% of ZrO2 was synthesized by the sol–gel method and calcined at different temperatures (300–600 °C). The photocatalysts were characterized by thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, physisorption of N2, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity was tested for the removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol under ultraviolet irradiation, being the materials exhibiting the best performance those calcined at 400 °C and 500 °C with 99% and 98% of degradation, respectively, after 150 min under irradiation. This behavior was related to a smaller crystallite size, higher surface area, and significant hydroxyl radicals produced. The (photo)electrochemical study showed that temperatures of 400 °C and 500 °C also generated an optimum amount of energetic states that act as electron traps and decrease the electron–hole pair recombination, favoring the oxidation of 2,4-dichlorophenol. However, at 300 °C and 600 °C, these energetic states act as an energy barrier that reduces the effective charge transfer and therefore decreases the photocatalytic activity of the materials.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85078279396&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10854-020-02881-2
DO - 10.1007/s10854-020-02881-2
M3 - Artículo
SN - 0957-4522
VL - 31
SP - 3332
EP - 3341
JO - Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics
JF - Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics
IS - 4
ER -