Progress in the Preparation and Modification of Zinc Ferrites Used for the Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants

Abstract

Zinc ferrite is a type of photocatalytic material with high physicochemical stability, narrow band gap, high carrier separation efficiency, high porosity, and paramagnetism, which makes it easy to recover. Thus, zinc ferrite is widely used as a photocatalyst in water treatment. In this paper, the preparation principles as well as the advantages and disadvantages of typical methods used to prepare zinc ferrite including hydrothermal, co-precipitation, sol-gel, and other novel methods such as biosynthesis have been summarized. Modification methods such as elemental doping, composite formation, and morphological modification have been highlighted. Using these modification methods, the catalytic activity of zinc ferrite toward the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in water has been enhanced. Biosynthesis is regarded as a promising preparation method that uses biological materials instead of chemical materials to achieve the large-scale preparation of zinc ferrite using low cost, energy efficient, and environmentally friendly processes. Meanwhile, the combination of multiple modification techniques to enhance the photocatalytic performance of zinc ferrite will be an important research trend in the future.

Facile development of copper ferrite nanospheres for UV light-driven photocatalytic degradation of cloxacillin sodium

“…Spinel ferrites are effective agents for the photocatalysis and photodegradation of dyes and drugs, because of their catalytic activity, lower solubility, stable crystalline structure, and exceptional magnetic activity. These characteristics can also make it simple to recover nanoparticles like ZnFe 2 O 4 , 28 CoFe 2 O 4 , 29 MgFe 2 O 4 , 30 MnFe 2 O 4 , 31 CuFe 2 O 4 and nickel ferrite (NiFe 2 O 4 ) from solutions using an external magnetic field. 32,33 Due to their ferrimagnetic activity, ferrites are primarily complex oxides containing ferric ions that are categorized as magnetic materials.…”

Rational synthesis and characterization of temperature switching ZnFe2O4/ZnO nanocomposites used for anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant and seed germination properties

“…Recently, these nanomaterials have been used for various applications, including wheat seed growth, antibacterial activity, catalytic dye degradation, antioxidant activity etc . 60–62…”

“…Recently, these nanomaterials have been used for various applications, including wheat seed growth, antibacterial activity, catalytic dye degradation, antioxidant activity etc. [60][61][62] In our work, ZnFe 2 O 4 /ZnO nanocomposites were synthesized and calcined at various temperatures between 300 and 750 1C and their morphological, size and structural alterations were examined using various characterization techniques. Through antibacterial and antioxidant testing, the synthesized composites' biological effectiveness was evaluated.…”

Microstructural, morphological and magnetic behaviour of Al3+ replaced BaFe11.5Co0.5O19 hexaferrites synthesized via sol-gel auto combustion route

“…Zhu et al studied the impact of cobalt (Co) and manganese (Mn) doping on hexaferrites. The magnetic properties of these ferrites, including magnetization, magnetic anisotropy, and magnetic coercivity, were shown to be enhanced by the Co/Mn doping [30].…”