ZrO2-doped TiO2 nanocrystals were prepared by a surfactant-assisted templating method (SATM) under a sol-gel process. Mesoporous anatase-type ZrO2-doped TiO2 nanocrystals with a surface area of 40-80 m(2)/g were obtained. A small amount of ZrO2 addition to TiO2 nanocrystals increased the thermal stability of the anatase phase of TiO2. By using a photocatalytic reaction of triiodide (I-3(-)) ions formation in KI solution by UV-irradiation, it was found that the 0.5 mol% ZrO2-doped TiO2 nanocrystals possessed the best photocatalytic activity of the TiO2-ZrO2 nanocrystals tested in this study. The effects of calcination temperature and zirconia content on the photocatalytic activity of titania-based nanocrystals were investigated.

Keywords: titania; photocatalytic activity; surfactant-assisted templating method; anatase