Ultrasonic-assisted sol-gel synthesis of rugby-shaped SrFe2O4/reduced graphene oxide hybrid as versatile visible light photocatalyst

摘要

The rugby-shaped SrFe2O4/reduced graphene oxide (RS-SrFe2O4/RGO) composite with high photocatalytic activity had been successfully prepared by ultrasonic-assisted sol-gel method. The relationship of the morphology and the performance of RS-SrFe2O4/RGO were investigated in detail. The results indicated that ultrasonic assistance can effectively decrease the agglomeration of RS-SrFe2O4, and increase the uniformity of the distribution of RS-SrFe2O4 on RGO nanosheets. Moreover, the photocatalytic performance of RS-SrFe2O4/RGO on degradation of dye Methylene Blue under visible light irradiation was markedly enhanced. The roles of active species were identified by using various scavengers, the band structure estimation, as well as Mott-Schottky analysis. It indicated that the major active species, superoxide radicals, mainly participated in the photocatalytic degradation process. According to the experimental results, a possible mechanism on photocatalytic degradation was proposed. The RS-SrFe2O4/RGO has great applied potentials in environmental purification because of its efficient photocatalysis, easy separation and good reusability. (C) 2016 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.