Photocatalytic H₂ evolution activity of CuO/ZrO₂ composite catalyst under simulated sunlight irradiation

Abstract

Zirconia-supported CuO (CuO/ZrO₂) composite photocatalysts were successfully synthesized via citric acid-assisted sol-gel technique. For comparison, CuO/ZrO₂ materials were also prepared by solid state reaction and co-precipitation method. The as-prepared powders were characterized by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). The photocatalytic activity of CuO/ZrO₂ catalyst was investigated based on the H₂ evolution from oxalic acid solution under simulated sunlight irradiation. The effects of molar ratio of CuO to ZrO₂, preparation method, phase change with the calcination temperature and the durability on the photocatalytic activity of the photocatalyst were investigated in detail. It is found that the optimal activity of photocatalytic H₂ evolution (2.41 mmol·h⁻¹μ⁻¹) can be obtained when CuO/ZrO₂ composite photocatalyst is synthesized by sol-gel technique and the mole ratio of CuO to ZrO₂ is 40%. The activity of copper oxide supported on monoclinic ZrO₂ calcined at higher temperature is much higher than that on tetragonal ZrO₂ calcined at lower temperature, and the best calcination temperature is 900 °C.

Keywords

CuO/ZrO₂ / photocatalytic activity / hydrogen evolution / simulated sunlight