Effect of ZrO2 incorporation and calcination temperature on the photocatalytic activity of commercial TiO2 for salicylic acid and Cr(VI) photodegradation Original Research Article

ZrO2-TiO2 system was prepared by sol–gel method, by precipitating the ZrOCl2·8H2O precursor at basic pH with TiO2 Degussa P25 and Hombikat UV-100. Catalyst has been calcined at two different temperatures and widely characterised (BET, XRD, DR/UV–VIS, XPS and TEM/SEM). Certain structural and morphological differences have been found. These results will be very useful for the lately photocatalytic study of these materials for salicylic acid photooxidation and Cr(VI) photoreduction. Different photocatalytic behaviour has been found for the two different TiO2 upon ZrO2 incorporation and calcinations temperature.