Heterostructured ZnFe2O4/Fe2TiO5/TiO2 Composite Nanotube Arrays with an Improved Photocatalysis Degradation Efficiency Under Simulated Sunlight Irradiation

Abstract

To improve the visible light absorption and photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide nanotube arrays (TONTAs), ZnFe2O4 (ZFO) nanocrystals were perfused into pristine TONTA pipelines using a novel bias voltage-assisted perfusion method. ZFO nanocrystals were well anchored on the inner walls of the pristine TONTAs when the ZFO suspensions (0.025 mg mL−1) were kept under a 60 V bias voltage for 1 h. After annealing at 750 °C for 2 h, the heterostructured ZFO/Fe2TiO5 (FTO)/TiO2 composite nanotube arrays were successfully obtained. Furthermore, Fe3+ was reduced to Fe2+ when solid solution reactions occurred at the interface of ZFO and the pristine TONTAs. Introducing ZFO significantly enhanced the visible light absorption of the ZFO/FTO/TONTAs relative to that of the annealed TONTAs. The coexistence of type I and staggered type II band alignment in the ZFO/FTO/TONTAs facilitated the separation of photogenerated electrons and holes, thereby improving the efficiency of the ZFO/FTO/TONTAs for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue when irradiated with simulated sunlight.

Microstructures and Photodegradation Performance toward Methylene Orange of Sputtering-Assisted Decoration of ZnFe2O4 Crystallites onto TiO2 Nanorods

“…The subpeaks located at 711.7 and 726.1 eV are attributed to Fe 3+ . The subpeaks situated at 714.8 and 719.1 eV are contributions from the Fe 2+ and Fe 3+ satellite signals, respectively [ 12 ]. The intense peaks of the binding contribution of 711.7 and 726.1 eV demonstrated that Fe in the ZFO crystallites is mainly in a trivalent state.…”

Mesoporous ZnFe2O4 Photoanodes with Template‐Tailored Mesopores and Temperature‐Dependent Photocurrents

“…Moreover, this spinel ferrite consists of non‐toxic, cheap and earth‐abundant elements, and is chemically stable in neutral and alkaline media . The photocatalytic properties of ZnFe 2 O 4 and its composites for the degradation of rhodamine B,, 4‐chlorophenol, methyl orange,, methylene blue, Acid Orange II,, and the reduction of Cr(VI) under UV or visible light irradiation have been investigated. Although ZnFe 2 O 4 has also been applied for PEC water splitting, most of the studies only use ZnFe 2 O 4 to modify the PEC performance of other photoelectrodes.…”

A Ternary Photocatalyst with Double Heterojunctionsfor Efficient Diesel Oil Degradation

“…[11] Among the photocatalysts used for degradation of the diesel pollutant, the titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) is widely selected on account of its superior reduction activity, good stability and inexpensive price. [12] TiO 2 photocatalyst can degrade many organic compounds in light, including the toluene, [13] trichloroethylene, [14] tetracycline, [15] methylene blue, [16] acetaminophen, [17] phenol [18] and bisphenol A. [19] On the other hand, TiO 2 also has some shortcomings, such as large band gap, low utilization of light energy.…”