Effect of ZnFe2O4 doping on the photocatalytic activity of TiO2

The photocatalytic oxidation of the organic pollutants with the TiO2 as photocatalyst has been widely studied in the world, and many achievements have been got. The degradation of pollutants is highly related with the photocatalytic activity of TiO2. It is demonstrated that doping ions or oxides to TiO2 is one way to enhance the photocatalytic activity of TiO2. In this paper, the ZnFe2O4-doped TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared from butyl titanate by a sol–gel method and characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that when TiO2 was doped with ZnFe2O4, its particle size will decrease and its crystal structure will partly transform from anatase to rutile. The photocatalytic activity of the elaborated powders was studied following the degradation of Rhodamine B. The results showed that doping ZnFe2O4 to TiO2 will enhance the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 and that ZnFe2O4-doped TiO2 in the coexistence of anatase and rutile has higher efficiency for the degradation of Rhodamine B than that in the anatase phase alone. Also the different role of O2 in the direct photolysis and photocatalysis of Rhodamine B was discussed.