Synthesis of Mixed-Phase TiO 2 -ZrO 2 Nanocomposite for Photocatalytic Wastewater Treatment.

The use of TiO 2 nanoparticles for photocatalysis for the degradation of organic dyes under UV light for wastewater treatment has been widely studied. However, the photocatalytic characteristics of TiO 2 nanoparticles are inadequate due to their UV light response and higher band gap. In this work, three nanoparticles were synthesized: (i) TiO 2 nanoparticle was synthesized by a sol-gel process. (ii) ZrO 2 was prepared using a solution combustion process and (iii) mixed-phase TiO 2 -ZrO 2 nanoparticles were synthesized by a sol-gel process to remove Eosin Yellow (EY) from aqueous solutions in the wastewater. XRD, FTIR, UV-VIS, TEM, and XPS analysis methods were used to examine the properties of the synthesized products. The XRD investigation supported the tetragonal and monoclinic crystal structures of the TiO 2 and ZrO 2 nanoparticles. TEM studies identified that mixed-phase TiO 2 -ZrO 2 nanoparticles have the same tetragonal structure as pure mixed-phase. The degradation of Eosin Yellow (EY) was examined using TiO 2 , ZrO 2 , and mixed-phase TiO 2 -ZrO 2 nanoparticles under visible light. The results confirmed that the mixed-phase TiO 2 -ZrO 2 nanoparticles show a higher level of photocatalytic activity, and the process is accomplished at a high degradation rate in lesser time and at a lower power intensity.