Preparation of Zr/Y co-doped TiO2 photocatalyst and degradation performance of hydroquinone

In this paper, Y-ZrO2-TiO2 photocatalyst was prepared by sol-gel method, the titanium source was tetrabutyl titanate, and the precursors were zirconium nitrate pentahydrate and yttrium nitrate hexahydrate. For the photocatalytic effect of Y-ZrO2-TiO2 to hydroquinone, these effects were investigated: doping ratios of Zr/Y, calcination conditions, pH, etc. And the materials were characterized by XRD, TEM-EDS, XPS, PL, ESR, etc. The results showed that the optimum preparation conditions of Y-ZrO2-TiO2 photocatalyst were as follows: the molar ratio of doping was Ti: Zr: Y = 100:6:0.5, the calcination temperature was 500 degrees C, and the calcination time was 2 h; the optimum reaction conditions were as follows: the dosage of Y-ZrO2-TiO2 was 1 g/L, and pH value was 6.96. The degradation rate of hydroquinone under 365-nm UV lamp for 50 min could reach 96.58%, while the degradation rates of pure TiO2, Y-TiO2, and ZrO2-TiO2 under the same conditions were 33.95%, 79.55%, and 90.30%, respectively. It can be seen that the addition of elements Zr and Y improves the photocatalytic performance of TiO2.