Preparation, characterization and activity evaluation of CaZrTi2O7 photocatalyst

CaZrTi2O7 photocatalyst sample was prepared by a polymerizable complex method. The photocatalyst was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, photoluminescence emission spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis, N2 adsorption measurements, and terephthalic acid probed fluorescence technique. The photocatalytic activity of the sample was evaluated by photocatalytic oxidation of methyl orange and photocatalytic reduction of Cr2O72− and nitrobenzene. The results showed that when the reaction solution was illuminated by UV light for 50 min, the photooxidation efficiency of methyl orange and the photoreduction efficiency of Cr2O72− were 83.1% and 87.9%, respectively. When methanol was used as the holes scavengers and the illumination time was 10 h in the photocatalytic reduction experiment of nitrobenzene, the production efficiency of aniline was 70.3%. The effect of the heat treatment conditions on the photocatalytic activity was also investigated. The optimum preparation condition for CaZrTi2O7 sample is 800 °C for 12 h. The mechanisms of influence on the photocatalytic activity of the sample were also discussed with the valance band theory.

► CaZrTi2O7 photocatalyst was prepared by a polymerizable complex method.
► The heat treatment has a significant influence on the photocatalytic activity.
► The optimal heat treatment condition is approximately 800 °C for 12 h.
► The CaZrTi2O7 has the band bap of about 2.89 eV with particle size of about 80 nm.