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

Abstract

Well-dispersed zinc ferrite (ZnFe 2 O 4 ) 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 m 2 ·g ¹1 when KCl/M ratio is 2/3. A visible-light-active ZnFe 2 O 4 /TiO 2 photocatalyst was prepared by physically grinding the ZnFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles with TiO 2 (P25) at ambient temperature, and it exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity for the mineralization of rhodamine B. With increasing of ZnFe 2 O 4 amount from 0 to 3wt %, the activity of ZnFe 2 O 4 /TiO 2 composite increased. The maximum photoactivity is observed when the amount of ZnFe 2 O 4 is 3 wt % and more than 97% of rhodamine B disappears after 4 h visible-light irradiation.

The effect of fuel on the physiochemical properties of ZnFe2O4 synthesized by solution combustion method

“…The addition of KCl reduces the crystal size and increases the surface area. The higher addition of KCl and NaCl in the synthesis of ZnFe 2 O 4 using the solution combustion method with L-α Alanine as fuel decreases the crystal size and increases the surface area [ 34 ].…”

“…The double bond fuel, such as urea (triple), are called unsaturated bonds and are generally more reactive. Therefore, the crystal formation process occurs quicker [ 26 , 34 ].…”

High Performance of Salt-Modified–LTO Anode in LiFePO4 Battery

“…The LTO particles exhibit micro sizes ranging from 1.83 to 2.28 µm, and all samples display a cubic morphology with a smooth surface. Moreover, previous studies reported that at certain concentrations, salt can prevent the agglomeration of particles during the sintering process [37,38,54]. Based on SEM images, the agglomeration of LTO particles is occurred without the NaCl addition (Figure 2a).…”

Microwave-Assisted Hydrothermal Synthesis of ZnFe₂O₄/TiO₂ Composite and Photocatalytic Properties

“…Zinc ferrite is synthesized by sol-gel auto-combustion [10], hydrothermal [11], co-precipitation [12] methods. TiO 2 /ZnFe 2 O 4 nanocomposites have been synthesized by sol gel [13], impregnation [5], hydrothermal [3] methods or grinding two components together [14]. In this study, microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis was extended to preparation of ZnFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles and ZnFe 2 O 4 /TiO 2 nanocomposite and their photocatalytic activity was determined using different light sources.…”