ZnO/ZnFe₂O₄ Janus Hollow Nanofibers with Magnetic Separability for Photocatalytic Degradation of Water-Soluble Organic Dyes

Abstract

We designed and controllably prepared ZnO/ZnFe2O4 with a novel Janus hollow nanofiber (ZnO/ZFO JHNF) structure as an efficient photocatalyst. First, Fe­(NO3)3/Zn­(NO3)2/PVP composite nanofibers were prepared by an electrospinning technique. Next, ZnO layers were layer by layer deposited on the above nanofibers via the atomic layer deposition (ALD) method, forming Fe­(NO3)3/Zn­(NO3)2/PVP@ZnO nanofibers. Then, ZnO/ZFO JHNFs with uniform heterostructural distributions were obtained after calcination. The ratio of ZnO to ZnFe2O4 in the Janus structure, which affected the internal electric field, could be controlled by adjusting the ALD cycle numbers of the ZnO layers. The Janus hollow structure could efficiently separate the photogenerated carriers, as well as the surface reduction and oxidation processes. For the degradation of methylene blue under visible light, the apparent first-order rate constant (k app) of the ZnO/ZFO JHNFs was about 2 and 17 times greater than those of electrospun ZnO/ZnFe2O4 nanofibers with randomly distributed heterojunctions and pure ZnFe2O4 hollow nanofibers (ZFO HNFs). The effect of the Janus heterojunctions was also experimentally studied by using Al2O3 as a barrier layer between ZnFe2O4 and ZnO, forming ZnO/Al2O3/ZnFe2O4 hollow nanofibers with a sandwich structure (ZnO/Al2O3/ZFO SHNFs). The k app of ZnO/Al2O3/ZFO SHNFs was only 1/12 that of ZnO/ZFO JHNFs and only slightly higher than that of ZFO HNFs, suggesting that the electron transfer process in the Janus heterojunction was the key for promoting the photocatalytic performance. Moreover, the ZnO/ZFO JHNFs could be easily separated under magnetic field after the photocatalytic tests due to the ferromagnetic property of ZnFe2O4. The ZnO/ZFO JHNFs with good solar light utilization and magnetically separable ability may be suitable for application prospects in the environmental restoration and energy conversion fields. Moreover, the oxide-based Janus heterojunctions may provide new ideas for designing novel photocatalysts with high efficiencies.

Structural engineering of BiOBr nanosheets for boosted photodegradation performance toward rhodamine B

“… 34 Impressively, degradation efficiency of the B-1:3 is far superior to that of reported BiOBr and modified BiOBr photocatalysts in the literature (Table S1 † ). To analyze the reaction kinetics of RhB degradation for BiOBr materials, the data was fitted according to the simplified Langmuir–Hinshelwood model: −ln( C / C 0 ) = kt , 46 and the result is presented in Fig. 7b .…”

Research Advances in the Synthesis, Application, Assembly, and Calculation of Janus Materials

“…Comparative experiments on photocatalytic degradation show that the Janus hollow structure with uniform distribution of heterostructures can effectively separate photogenerated carriers, as well as surface reduction and oxidation processes, and further improve charge separation efficiency and photocatalytic activity. 137 Zhu et al compared the electrocatalytic imaging capabilities of Au, Pt, and Au−Pt Janus nanoparticles. Because of the different heterogeneous electron transport rate constants on Au and Pt, fluid slip around Janus particles forming a bimetal asymmetric interface will enhance the local redox reaction and protect the particle surface from passivation.…”

“…It has a controllable ZnO/ZnFe 2 O 4 ratio and a heterogeneous structure uniformly distributed in the inner and outer layers of hollow nanofibers. Comparative experiments on photocatalytic degradation show that the Janus hollow structure with uniform distribution of heterostructures can effectively separate photogenerated carriers, as well as surface reduction and oxidation processes, and further improve charge separation efficiency and photocatalytic activity . Zhu et al.…”

Development of Free-Standing Titanium Dioxide Hollow Nanofibers Photocatalyst with Enhanced Recyclability

“…The small-sized photocatalysts tend to be trapped together in the effluent, which eventually reduces the number of remaining catalysts in the system. Catalysts reclamation procedures such as centrifugation [ 9 ], gravitational sedimentation [ 10 ], and filtration [ 11 ] are also required in order to collect the lost catalysts. In long-term application, this might have an impact on the operational cost and impede the overall performance as the recyclability of the photocatalysts are reduced.…”