Photocatalytic decolorization of indigo-carmine dye by sol-gel synthesized doped ZrO2 photocatalyst

摘要

The effect of transition metal dopants (Mn~(2+), Fe~(2+), Co~(2+), Ni~(2+), and Cu~(2+)) on the photocatalytic properties of ZrO2 was investigated. Crystallized powders of photocatalyst synthesized by Sol-gel process with zirconium n-butoxide and tert-butyl alcohol precursors were characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance, nitrogen adsorption isotherms and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. Photocatalytic activity under UV irradiation of undoped and doped ZrO2 powders was tested by degradation of indigo carmine dye, chosen as model the organic pollutant. Doping of ZrO2 with Nickel, Cobalt, Manganese and Copper decreases the Crystallite size of powders except of Iron. Comparison of photocatalytic activity of undoped and doped ZrO2 photocatalyst shows that doping with Manganese and Iron increases the efficiency of degradation of studied pollutant.