Facile synthesis of zirconia supported nanomaterials for efficient photocatalytic applications. Issue 1 (4th January 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Khan, Khushbakhat; Saeed, Muhammad; Awad, Sameer A.; Khan, Muhammad Younas; Khalaf, Eman M.; Zaman, Muhammad Saleh; Aiman, Vaneeza; Irshad, Tasmia; Ahsan, Hadia
• Is Part Of: Journal of the Chinese Chemical Society. Volume 70:Issue 1(2023)
• Page Start: 46
• Page End: 57
• Publication Date: 2023-01-04
• Subjects: malachite green -- methylene blue -- mixture of dyes -- photodegradation -- zirconia; Chemistry -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 540.5
• DOI: 10.1002/jccs.202200457
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0009-4536

Abstract

Abstract: The recent study enlightens the synthesis and characterization of zirconia (ZrO2 ), Fe‐doped ZrO2 (Fe@ZrO2 ), and Ni‐doped ZrO2 (Ni@ZrO2 ) catalysts having new‐fangled morphology with tuned band gap as photocatalysts for degradation of textile wastewater dyes methylene blue (MB), malachite green (MG), and their mixtures. SEM imaging of Fe@ZrO2 and Ni@ZrO2 is interestingly varied from ZrO2 as well as doping of transition metals greatly affects the morphology of composites. The optimization study depicts that the pH, time (min) and catalyst amount (g) have a direct relation with degradation efficiency, while the dye concentration (mg/L) has an indirect relation as well. The photocatalytic studies depict that the degradation of MB and MG follows oxidation pathway via hydroxyl radicals (OH ) and holes. Reusability of catalysts corresponds to a little decrease in degradation efficiency in the first two cycles and decreases to about ∼10% (Ni@ZrO2 ) and ∼12% (Fe@ZrO2 ) in next three cycles. Abstract : The graphical abstract represents the loss in mass of zirconia materials exposed to different temperature ranges. In addition, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was conducted for zirconia and TMs‐doped zirconia materials in the range of 40–850°C in inert atmosphere (He) at 30 ml/min for the quantification of mass loss wt % as shown in the graphical abstract.