Reactant effect on visible-light driven photocatalytic performance of sol–gel derived tetragonal ZrO 2 nanoparticles

Abstract Tetragonal ZrO2 (t-ZrO2) nanocrystals were prepared through sol–gel process and the influence of zirconium starting reactants on visible-light photocatalytic performance for degrading tetracycline hydrochloride was discussed. The t-ZrO2 powders synthesized by using zirconium n-propoxide show low specific surface area of ∼20 m2/g. Those synthesized by zirconium oxychloride exhibit high specific surface area of ∼76 m2/g, along with a great deal of oxygen vacancies, which shows highly visible-light photocatalytic performance. Accordingly, the apparent quantum efficiency of the t-ZrO2 catalyst synthesized by zirconium oxychloride is seven times as much as that synthesized by zirconium n-propoxide. Furthermore, their photocatalytic mechanism was discussed.