SYNTHESIS OF NANOCOMPOSITE ZrO2/ZnO AND ZrO2/CuO DOPED Ce4+ APPLICATIONS IN PHOTOCATALYTIC

Abstract

Water pollution due to organic pigments from factories is a cause for concern. Treatment methods such as adsorption, flocculation, or filtration, often consume energy and cause secondary pollution. Photocatalytic methods are currently of interest to scientists. Especially photocatalysts use solar energy. Because this is a clean, endless source of energy. In this paper, we synthesisized ZrO₂/ZnO and ZrO₂/CuO composite nanoparticles doped with Ce⁴⁺ ions by hydrothermal method. Photocatalytic activity of methylene blue (MB), under simulated sunlight was tested. The results show that the morphology of synthetic composite nanomaterials is nanoparticles with diameter of 60-100 nm. When meterial was doped with Ce⁴⁺, the perfomance degradation of MB is 73.1% in 180 minutes, higher than that of no doped Ce⁴⁺ ion with 44.1%. Analysis of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) have also been studied. This result shows that the ZrO₂/ZnO and ZrO₂/CuO nanocomposites doped with Ce⁴⁺ have potential applications in water treatment and environmental pollution.