Effect of calcination temperature induced structural modifications on the photocatalytic efficacy of Fe2O3–ZrO2 nanostructures: mechanochemical synthesis

Abstract

Water contamination due to organic pollutants is a challenging issue around the globe, and several attempts have been made to deal with this issue. Out of which, the semiconductor-based photocatalytic process had gained much attention and proved to be an efficient, easy, and economical process for the removal of organic dyes from aqueous solutions. For this purpose, the iron oxide–zirconium dioxide nanocomposite (Fe₂O₃–ZrO₂ NC) was prepared via a simple mechanochemical process using a mortar and pestle, followed by a calcination process at 300, 600, and 900 °C. Different physicochemical analyses were carried out in order to investigate the successful synthesis of Fe₂O₃–ZrO₂ NC and the effect of temperature on the crystallinity, surface area, pore size, phase composition, sample morphology, and particle/crystallite size. The Fe₂O₃–ZrO₂ NCs were subjected to a photocatalytic test under solar light irradiation against fluorescein dye in an aqueous medium, and the photocatalytic performance was examined under the influence of calcination temperatures, pH, catalyst dose, and initial concentration. The stability of the Fe₂O₃–ZrO₂ NCs was also checked by recycling them for five reuse cycles.