Efficient removal of toxic dyes and nitrophenol using Graphene Oxide-ZrO2 hybrid catalysts

Abstract

In the current study, efficient removal of industrial dyes and nitrophenol by ZrO<inf>2</inf>–GO catalyst has been reported. ZrO<inf>2</inf>–GO nanoparticles were prepared using the hydrothermal technique and are characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Photoluminescence (PL), Raman, and UV–visible spectroscopy techniques. The ability of the nanoparticles to degrade Methylene Blue (MB), Crystal Violet (CV), and Nitrophenol (NP) was examined for their photocatalytic activities. Results revealed that there is an increase in the crystallite size and pore size increased almost 2 times after adding 2 % GO in ZrO<inf>2</inf>. The addition of GO into ZrO<inf>2</inf> also caused a decrease in the PL intensity and energy gap indicating an increase in the charge carriers. ZrO<inf>2</inf>–GO nanoparticles showed photocatalytic degradation of 90 % (70 min), 98 % (90 min), and 70 % (120 min) for MB, CV, and NP respectively. © 2025 Elsevier B.V.