Facile synthesis of ZnFe2O4 photocatalysts for decolourization of organic dyes under solar irradiation

Arjun Behera; Debasmita Kandi; Sanjit Manohar Majhi; Satyabadi Martha; Kulamani Parida

doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.42

Facile synthesis of ZnFe₂O₄ photocatalysts for decolourization of organic dyes under solar irradiation

Beilstein J Nanotechnol. 2018 Feb 5:9:436-446. doi: 10.3762/bjnano.9.42. eCollection 2018.

Authors

Arjun Behera¹, Debasmita Kandi¹, Sanjit Manohar Majhi², Satyabadi Martha¹, Kulamani Parida¹

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Nano Science and Nano Technology, Institute of Technical Education and Research, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan (deemed to be university), Bhubaneswar-751030, India.
² Department of Electronic Information Materials Engineering, Division of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, 561-756, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

ZnFe₂O₄ was fabricated by a simple solution-combustion method. The structural, optical and electronic properties are investigated by XRD, TEM, FESEM, UV-vis DRS, PL, FTIR and photocurrent measurements. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared material is studied with regard to the degradation of rhodamine B (Rh B) and Congo red under solar irradiation. The kinetic study showed that the material exhibits zeroth and first order reaction kinetics for the degradation of Rh B and Congo red, respectively. The photocatalytic behaviour of ZnFe₂O₄ was systematically studied as a function of the activation temperature. ZnFe₂O₄ prepared at 500 °C showed the highest activity in degrading Rh B and Congo red. The highest activity of ZnFe₂O₄-500 °C correlates well with the lowest PL intensity, highest photocurrent and lowest particle size.

Keywords: Congo red; ZnFe2O4; electrochemical study; phenol; photocatalyst; rhodamine B (Rh B).