Facile synthesis, morphological, structural, photocatalytic, and optical properties of ZnFe2O4 nanostructures

Abstract

Spinel ferrite ZnFe2O4 nanostructures have been prepared as sunlight responsive photocatalysts via facile co-precipitation method. The structural, morphological, and optical responses were diligently characterized using XRD, Raman spectroscopy, FESEM, and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, respectively. FESEM studies revealed nanoparticles and porous-like nanoparticle aggregates, found to be of cubic spinel ZnFe2O4 from XRD and Raman studies. Crystallite size varied from 5 to 13.6 nm, whereas band gap changed from 1.89 to 1.95 eV with CTAB concentration variation. ZnFe2O4 nanostructures were employed for sunlight-assisted photodegradation of organic pollutants such as MB, MG, and MO dyes in water. The synthesized ZnFe2O4 nanoparticle aggregates with porous-like morphology with crystallite size of 9.2 nm showed superior photocatalytic response and decomposed 80.4% of MB dye in only 40 min. The superiority of the porous-like ZnFe2O4 nanoparticle aggregates was mainly ascribed to its optimal crystallite size, narrower band gap, and improved sunlight utilization efficiency. A plausible mechanism of photocatalytic oxidation of dye supported by scavenger studies has also been proposed. The synthesized ZnFe2O4 nanostructures have easy magnetic recycling property along with excellent photocatalytic capability and hold potential for the treatment of contaminated water.