Solution combustion synthesis, characterization, photocatalytic activity and electrochemical studies of yttrium stabilized zirconia ( Zr0.72 Y0.28 O1.862 ) nanopowder.
Background: In our work, we effectively synthesized Yttrium stabilized zirconia (YSZ) Zr0.72 Y0.28 O1.862 nanopowder by solution combustion method using yttrium nitrate (Y(NO3)3.6H2O), zirconyl nitrate (ZrO(NO3)2.XH2O) as oxidizers and ethylenediamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) as a fuel. The as-synthesized nanopowder was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Breauner Emmet Teller (BET) surface area, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectrum (UV-DRS) and photoluminescence (PL) technique. The phase formation of YSZ nanopowder was analysed by Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) revealed the formation of pure cubic phase of YSZ (Zr0.72 Y0.28 O1.862) nanopowder and the crystallite size of 15.4 nm was calculated by using Scherrer’s formula. Methods: The porous morphology of the product was observed by SEM images. The relatively larger surface area of 87.17 m2g–1 was measured by BET surface area. TEM analysis revealed uniform particle size distribution with average particle sizes varying in the range of 20-100 nm. The UV-Vis DRS spectrum was used to calculate the absorption wavelength (339 nm) and the corresponding band gap (3.72 eV) using Tauc plot. The photoluminescence spectrum of YSZ nanopowder showed an emission peak at 339 nm. Results: The photodegradation (decolourisation) of methylene blue (MB) dye was increased from 75-90% with increase in the concentration of YSZ photocatalyst from 100 mg to 400 mg due to availability of OH radicals in the presence of UV radiation. Conclusion : The electrochemical studies using cyclic voltammetry reveal a substantial increase in current density of YSZ electrode from 0.0001A to 0.0005A when compared with bare carbon electrode and the instantaneous rise in redox current for the YSZ electrodes from 0.0001A to 0.0005A with increasing scan rate from 10 mVs-1 to 90 mVs-1.