Altered zirconium dioxide based photocatalyst for enhancement of organic pollutants degradation: A review

Heterogeneous advanced oxidation processes are a promising approach for cost-efficient removal of pollutants using semiconductors. Zirconium dioxide (ZrO₂) is an auspicious material for photocatalytic activity owning to its suitable bandgap, stability, and low cost. However, ZrO₂ suffers from fast recombination rate, and poor light harvesting ability. Nonetheless, extra modification has also shown improvements and therefore is worth investigating. The endeavour of this paper initially discusses the fundamentals with respect to reactive species, classification, and synthesis methods for ZrO₂. Furthermore, with particular consideration to stability and reusability, several additional modification approaches for ZrO₂-based photocatalysts such as doping and noble metals loading. Furthermore, the formation of heterojunctions has also been shown to boost photocatalytic activity while inhibiting charge carrier recombination. Finally, photocatalyst separation via magnetic-based photocatalysts are elucidated. As a result, ZrO₂-based photocatalysts are regarded as a promising emerging technology that warrants further development and research.