Cu and Zr surface sites in photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanoparticles: The effect of Zr distribution

Abstract The present work is focused on the role of ZrO 2 modification in the performance of CuO modified TiO 2 . Zirconia loading leads to formation of more resistant photocatalytic layers compared to samples modified with only copper containing species. Surface modification of mixed phase TiO 2 with CuO/ZrO 2 improves the degradation of Reactive blue 19 dye under simulated solar irradiation. An in-depth investigation of the catalysts showed that in case of CuO/ZrO 2 modification, the covering of the TiO 2 surface with zirconium containing species prevents morphological and harmful energetic changes induced by copper species formed on the rutile TiO 2 phase at a higher copper loading.