Preparation of Magnetic Zinc Ferrite Nanoparticles and their Photocatalytic Performance

摘要

Zinc ferrites (ZnFe_2O_4) nanoparticles were successfully prepared by the simple co-precipitation method. The effects of calcination temperature and the amount of surfactant on the microstructure of zinc ferrite products were studied. The products were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The XRD results confirmed the formation of a cubic spinel structure in all samples. The SEM results revealed that surfactant molecules play a crucial role to control the microstructure of the samples. All samples showed extended absorptions in the visible region. The photocatalytic results indicated that ZnFe_2O_4 enhanced the photocatalytic activity with increased calcination temperature. In addition, the ZnFe_2O_4 prepared by addition of high concentrations of surfactant gave the highest photocatalytic activity. The synthesized ZnFe_2O_4 can be recovered by applying an external magnetic field.