Salt-assisted solution combustion synthesis of ZnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles and photocatalytic activity with TiO₂ (P25) as nanocomposite

抄録

Well-dispersed zinc ferrite (ZnFe₂O₄) nanoparticles were successfully prepared by a novel salt-assisted solution combustion process. The effects of types and amounts of the added salt on the properties of the products were investigated by XRD, SEM, and BET nitrogen adsorption techniques. The results indicated that the introduction of salt into reaction system facilitate the formation of well-dispersed spinel zinc ferrite and increase specific surface area of the resultants from 7.14 to 88.34 m²·g⁻¹ when KCl/M ratio is 2/3. A visible-light-active ZnFe₂O₄/TiO₂ photocatalyst was prepared by physically grinding the ZnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles with TiO₂ (P25) at ambient temperature, and it exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity for the mineralization of rhodamine B. With increasing of ZnFe₂O₄ amount from 0 to 3wt %, the activity of ZnFe₂O₄/TiO₂ composite increased. The maximum photoactivity is observed when the amount of ZnFe₂O₄ is 3 wt % and more than 97% of rhodamine B disappears after 4 h visible-light irradiation.