Base treatment and metal doping were evaluated as means of enhancing the photocatalytic activity of ZrO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) via the generation of oxygen vacancies (O_vS), and the sites responsible for this enhancement were identified and characterized by spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. We confirmed that O_vS produced by base treatment engaged in photocatalytic activity for organic pollutant degradation, whereas surface defects introduced by Cr-ion doping engaged in oxidative catalysis of molecules. Moreover, we verified that base-treated ZrO₂ NPs outperformed their Cr-ion doped counterparts as photocatalysts using in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy coupled with electron energy loss spectroscopy (STEM-EELS). Thus, our study provides valuable information on the origin of the enhanced photocatalytic activity of modified ZrO₂ NPs and demonstrates the practicality of in situ spectroscopy and STEM-EELS for the evaluation of highly efficient metal oxide photocatalysts.

碱处理和金属掺杂被评估为通过产生氧空位 (O _{vS ) 来增强 ZrO 2}纳米粒子 (NPs) 的光催化活性的手段，并通过光谱和显微镜技术识别和表征了导致这种增强的位点。我们证实了碱处理产生的O _vS具有光催化降解有机污染物的活性，而Cr 离子掺杂引入的表面缺陷则具有分子的氧化催化作用。此外，我们验证了碱处理的 ZrO ₂使用原位 X 射线光电子能谱和扫描透射电子显微镜结合电子能量损失能谱 (STEM-EELS)，NPs 作为光催化剂的性能优于它们的 Cr 离子掺杂对应物。_{因此，我们的研究为改性 ZrO 2} NPs增强光催化活性的起源提供了有价值的信息，并证明了原位光谱和 STEM-EELS 在评估高效金属氧化物光催化剂方面的实用性。