K. Kaviyarasu
University of South Africa, South Africa
Title: Looking for quantum size effects in Zr-Pb-O2 one dimensional nanorods
Biography
Biography: K. Kaviyarasu
Abstract
In the present work, we synthesized ZrO2:PbO2 nanorods samples were prepared by solvothermal process and the physiochemical properties of ZrO2:PbO2 nanoparticles were determined by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV– vis), Transmission electron microscope (TEM), Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under UV and visible light irradiation. The solvothermal made ZrO2 treated PbO2 nanorods showed the highest photocatalytic activity under both UV and visible light irradiation. The addition of the ZrO2:PbO2 resulted in the formation of partial monolayer of ZrO2 doped ZrO2:PbO2 nanorods and an increase of the anatase phase stability. The XPS results reveal that the calcinated ambiance affected the distribution concentration of surface and interface species in ZrO2 and Zr-doped PbO2, such as surface oxygen and Pb3þ sites, thus improving photo catalytic activity.