Characteristic and photocatalytic performance of magnetic photocatalyst β-Bi2O3/MnxZn1−xFe2O4 synthesized by hydrothermal and calcination method

Abstract

A magnetic photocatalyst [Formula: see text]-Bi2O3/Mn[Formula: see text]Zn[Formula: see text]Fe2O4 (Bi2O3/MZF) was fabricated by hydrothermal and calcination method, and characterized by XRD, FTIR, XPS and SEM, BET and VSM. The photocatalytic efficiency was measured by the degradation experiment of Rhodamine B (RhB). The degradation rate of the optimum sample Bi2O3/MZF (10 wt.%) could reach 96.8% after 3 h under visible light, and was improved significantly compared with pure [Formula: see text]-Bi2O3 due to the larger pore size (11.76 nm) and specific surface area (17.87 m2 ⋅ g[Formula: see text]. Meanwhile, the Bi2O3/MZF (10 wt.%) could be recovered under the external magnetic field due to its high magnetization saturation (9.22 emu ⋅ g[Formula: see text]. After reusing three times, the Bi2O3/MZF could still maintain the excellent photocatalytic activity and structural stability.