Photocatalytic activity of nanostructured ZnO–ZrO2 binary oxide using fluorometric method

•ZnO–ZrO2 nanomaterials were successfully prepared by impregnation method.•ZnO significantly modified the properties of ZrO2 nanomaterial.•All ZnO–ZrO2 nanomaterials possess high surface area and mesoporous structure.•The photocatalytic activity of ZnO–ZrO2 nanomaterials was evaluated using fluorescent based method.

Evaluation of the photocatalytic activity of ZnO–ZrO2 nanomaterials using fluorescence based technique has rarely been reported. In the present work, ZnO–ZrO2 mixed oxides coupled with various ZnO dosages (0, 10, 30, 50, 70 wt%) were prepared by impregnation method. These nanomaterials were characterized by studying their structural, surface and optical properties. The photocatalytic activity in term of quantitative determination of the active oxidative species (OH) produced on the surface of binary oxide was evaluated using fluorescent probe method. The interaction between ZnO and ZrO2 was affected on the photocatalytic efficiency of mixture. The results show that, the addition of ZnO to ZrO2 decreased the electron–hole recombination and increased the rate of OH radicals formation. 50 wt% ZnO–ZrO2 photocatalyst exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity. The profound effect of binary oxide catalyst was generally considered due to the high surface area, small particle size, high monoclinic phase of ZrO2 content, low band gap and the presence of surface OH groups.

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