CdO-supported ZrO 2 heterojunctions: facile synthesis and rapid visible-light oxidation of atrazine herbicide with superb recyclability.

The advancement in ceramic oxide-based photocatalysis has got much attention recently for environmental issues. Atrazine (AZ) is one of the major used herbicides in agricultural and related industries. This work familiarizes a polymeric-assisted sol-gel preparation of high surface area zirconium oxide (ZrO 2 ) supported with cadmium oxide nanoparticles at minor content (0.5-2.0 wt%). Exploration of the synthesized heterostructures revealed the enhancement of visible-light absorbance and reduction of bandgap energy to 2.76 eV keeping the same crystalline form and high surface area of 170 m 2 g ‒1 . The prepared photocatalysts were used to degrade AZ in water at a concentration of 231.8 μ M (50 ppm). The 1.5%-introduced CdO to ZrO 2 revealed the best-performed photocatalyst for complete oxidation of AZ within 40 at an optimized dose of 1.6 g l -1 . This novel ceramic photocatalyst showed a chemical and structural ability to keep 98.5% of its initial efficiency after five regenerated cycles. The construction of p-n heterojunction between the p-type ZrO 2 and the n-type CdO contributed to the comprehensive photocatalytic competence toward the efficient charge separation and photooxidation process.