Synthesis of Zinc Ferrite and Its Photocatalytic Application under Visible Light

Jum Suk Jang, S. J. Hong, Jang‐Sik Lee, Pramod H. Borse, Ok‐Sang Jung, Tianjie Hong, E. D. Jeong, Mi‐Sook Won, H. G. Kim

Journal of the Korean Physical Society · 2009 · 73 citations · 0 references

Concepts

Abstract

ZnFe(2)O(4) with a spinel crystal structure was synthesized by using the solid-state reaction method. A single-phase ZnFe(2)O(4) was obtained in the temperature range of 900 - 1200 degrees C. The as-synthesized particles were agglomerates of crystals with an average size of 51.9 nm, as estimated from X-ray diffraction analysis. The band gap of the n-type semiconducting metal oxide, as determined by using UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS) was found to be 1.90 eV (657 nm). The photocatalytic activity of ZnFe204 was investigated by using the photo-decomposition of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) under visible light (>= 420 nm) and was found to be much higher than that of the well-known TiO(2-x)N(x) photocatalyst