Photoluminescence properties and photocatalytic activities of zirconia nanotube arrays fabricated by anodization

•ZrO2 nanotubes with different diameters were prepared by anodization.•The photoluminescence properties of the as-prepared ZrO2 nanotubes and that annealed at 400 °C were tested.•The photocatalytic properties of ZrO2 nanotubes were presented.

Highly ordered ZrO2 nanotube arrays have been fabricated by anodization at different voltages between 20–50 V. Photoluminescence of the as-prepared freestanding ZrO2 membrane were tested and photocatalytic activities of ZrO2 nanotube arrays were characterized by quantifying the degradation of methyl orange dye solution. It was found that the as-prepared samples exhibited two types of photoluminescence peaks, one is stable peaks and another is unstable peaks which shift with the excitation wavelength. In the samples annealed at 400 °C, only stable peaks are presented. The decolorization percentage decreases with a higher solution concentration, while increases with a larger diameter of ZrO2 nanotubes.

Graphical abstractOrdered ZrO2 nanotube arrays were fabricated by anodization and their photoluminescence properties and photocatalytic activities were characterized.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (161 K)Download as PowerPoint slide