Issue 79, 2017, Issue in Progress

Heterostructured ZnFe2O4/TiO2 nanocomposites with a highly recyclable visible-light-response for bisphenol A degradation

Abstract

Novel visible-light-sensitive ZnFe2O4–TiO2 heterojunction photocatalysts are successfully fabricated by a facile solvothermal method for the enhanced photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A (BPA) under different light sources. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency and rate of BPA by ZnFe2O4–TiO2 under the irradiation of different light sources follow the order 465 nm visible light > solar simulator > 365 nm UV light. The reaction rate of BPA by ZnFe2O4–TiO2 in the presence of 465 nm visible light is 42 times higher than that under 365 nm UV light irradiation. In addition, the ZnFe2O4–TiO2 nanocomposites exhibit excellent recycling and reusability and can retain their stable photocatalytic activity toward BPA photodegradation for at least 10 cycles of reaction with rate constants of 0.191–0.218 min−1 under visible light irradiation. The photogenerated holes as well as oxygen-containing radicals are identified to be the predominant reactive species responsible for the photodegradation of BPA in the ZnFe2O4–TiO2 system. The possible reaction mechanisms for BPA photodegradation by p–n heterojunction ZnFe2O4–TiO2 are also proposed. Results obtained in this study clearly demonstrate the superior visible-light-driven photoactivity of ZnFe2O4–TiO2 toward BPA photodegradation and can open an avenue to fabrication of p–n heterojunctions of photocatalysts with a wide variety of potential applications in the fields of photocatalysis, water splitting and energy conversion.

Graphical abstract: Heterostructured ZnFe2O4/TiO2 nanocomposites with a highly recyclable visible-light-response for bisphenol A degradation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
27 Jul 2017
Accepted
20 Oct 2017
First published
26 Oct 2017
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2017,7, 50006-50016

Heterostructured ZnFe2O4/TiO2 nanocomposites with a highly recyclable visible-light-response for bisphenol A degradation

T. B. Nguyen and R. Doong, RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 50006 DOI: 10.1039/C7RA08271A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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