Tuning the bandgap of m-ZrO2 by incorporation of copper nanoparticles into visible region for the treatment of organic pollutants

• Published in: Materials research bulletin 2020-03, Vol.123, p.110698, Article 110698
• Main Authors: Singh, Harish, Sunaina, Yadav, Krishna Kumar, Bajpai, Vaibhav Kumar, Jha, Menaka
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cu-ZrO2; m-ZrO2; Nanocomposites; Photocatalysis
• ISSN: 0025-5408; 1873-4227
• DOI: 10.1016/j.materresbull.2019.110698

Synthesis of Cu-ZrO2 photocatalyst for efficient removal of organic pollutant under visible light illumination [Display omitted] •Bandgap tuning of pure m-ZrO2 has been done by incorporation of copper nanoparticles.•Cu-ZrO2 nanocomposites were prepared by chemical reduction method in glycolic medium.•The Cu-ZrO2 composite shows good photocatalytic activity for Methylene blue degradation.•Photocatalytic mechanism of Cu-ZrO2 for Methylene blue dye degradation was studied by adding scavengers into the system. In the present study, a low-temperature process for the stabilization of Cu-ZrO2 nanocomposite has been designed. The synthesis of m-ZrO2 has been done via hydrothermal route followed by decoration of copper onto m-ZrO2 surface by chemical reduction of copper salt in ethylene glycol. The optical study of the Cu-ZrO2 nanocomposites shows that, as the concentration of copper increases, the bandgap of the nanocomposite decreases. Among the series of synthesized nanocomposites of Cu-ZrO2, the nanocomposite having 1:4  molar ratio of Cu: ZrO2 shows the excellent photo-degradation efficacy (degradation efficiency ∼94 %) in the visible light because of efficient charge separation as confirmed by spectroscopic techniques as well as kelvin probe force microscopic studies.