Preparation of zinc titanate nanoparticles and their photocatalytic behaviors in the photodegradation of humic acid in water

A series of zinc titanate nanoparticles was successfully synthesized using a simple sol–gel technique. The composites were characterized by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra (UV–vis). The photocatalytic activity of samples was investigated by degradation of humic acid (HA) in water under xenon lamp. The sample calcined at 800 °C was found to exhibit much higher photocatalytic activity than the other samples. The investigation of photocatalytic mechanism indicates that the holes (h+) and OH radicals may be the major reactive species for the degradation of HA. Meanwhile, the processing parameters such as the light source and the dosage of catalysts play an important role in tuning the photocatalytic activity. The enhancement of photocatalytic activity for the zinc titanate nanoparticles calcined at 800 °C may be attributed to the higher redox ability, coordination of Ti ions and smaller particle size.