Heterostructured ZnFe₂O₄/TiO₂ nanotube arrays with remarkable visible-light photoelectrocatalytic performance and stability

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• 作者：Shan Xie^a ; Ke Ouyang^a ; ^{wyuchemoyk@126.com} ; Yueming Lao^a ; Peihao He^a ; Qun Wang^b ; ^{qunwang@iastate.edu}
• 关键词：ZnFe2O4 ; TiO2 nanotube arrays ; Methyl orange ; Photoelectrocatalytic degradation
• 刊名：Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：1 May 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：493
• 期：Complete
• 页码：198-205
• 全文大小：3610 K
• 卷排序：493

文摘

A series of heterostructured ZnFe2O4/TiO2-nanotube arrays (NTAs) with remarkable visible-light photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) activity were successfully prepared via a two-step process of anodization and impregnation, followed by annealing. The structure and morphology of the as-prepared ZnFe2O4/TiO2-NTAs samples, PEC degradation abilities and photoelectrochemical performances, as well as long-term stabilities toward degradation of methyl orange (MO) solution under visible-light irradiation were deeply investigated. Results showed that forming a heterojunction by combination of TiO2-NTAs with ZnFe2O4 successfully extended the absorption edge of TiO2-NTAs to visible-light region. Among all the ZnFe2O4/TiO2-NTAs samples, the 2-ZnFe2O4/TiO2-NTAs sample, named ZT(2), obtained the best PEC activity and the highest photocurrent density under visible-light irradiation. Moreover, the ZT(2) sample retained a good reproducibility and high stability after 20 days of PEC degradation. The outstanding visible-light PEC activity and photocurrent response of the ZT(2) sample were attributed to the proper amount of ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles loaded onto the TiO2-NTAs, which not only dramatically improved the visible-light absorption of TiO2-NTAs, but also assisted the separation of photo-induced electron-hole pairs and reduced their recombination by forming a ZnFe2O4/TiO2-NTAs heterojunction. The reaction mechanism responsible for the enhanced visible-light PEC performance of the ZnFe2O4/TiO2-NTAs heterostructure was also discussed.