Photocatalytic Activities of Methylene Blue Using ZrO2 Thin Films at Different Annealing Temperatures
Source abstract
Abstract
Tetragonal ZrO2, synthesized by the sol–gel method and dip-coating technique, was found to be photocatalytically active for the degradation of methylene blue. The ZrO2 thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV-vis spectroscopy. The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue was carried out with this material. We identified the tetragonal phase in ZrO2 thin film at different annealing temperatures from 400 °C to 550 °C. The XRD study indicated that the films were monocrystalline in nature with preferred grain orientation along (011) plane and exhibited a tetragonal crystal structure. The crystallite size of the films increased with increasing annealing temperature. FTIR explained the bonding nature and confirmed the formation of the composite. UV-Vis showed the optical absorbance was high in the visible region and the optical band gap value increased with annealing temperature. The photocatalytic experimental results revealed that ZrO2 thin films degraded MB by 20%, 24%, 29%, and 36%, with annealing temperatures of 400 °C at 550 °C for 10 h, respectively. Our results provide useful insights into the development of photocatalytic materials and degradation of methylene blue.
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Research context
OpenAlex topics: Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques · TiO2 Photocatalysis and Solar Cells · Catalytic Processes in Materials Science
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Research and Postgraduate Division, Faculty of Engineering, Autonomous University of Queretaro (UAQ), Queretaro 76010, Queretaro, Mexico
Department of Physics, Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute, P.O. Box 14-740, Av. IPN 2508, Mexico City 07360, Mexico
Center of Research and Technological Development in Electrochemistry, Parque Tecnologico Queretaro, S/n, Pedro Escobedo 76703, Queretaro, Mexico
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