title: Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of ZrO<sub>2</sub>-SiO<sub>2</sub>Nanoparticles by Platinum Doping
abstract: ZrO 2 -SiO 2 mixed oxides were prepared via the sol-gel method. Photo-assisted deposition was utilized for doping the prepared mixed oxide with 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 wt% of Pt. XRD spectra showed that doping did not result in the incorporation of Pt within the crystal structure of the material. UV-reflectance spectrometry showed that the band gap of ZrO 2 -SiO 2 decreased from 3.04 eV to 2.48 eV with 0.4 wt% Pt doping. The results show a specific surface area increase of 20%. Enhanced photocata
journal: International Journal of Photoenergy