Photocatalytic performance of visible active boron nitride supported ZnFe2O4 (ZnFe2O4/BN) nanocomposites for the removal of aqueous organic pollutants

Abstract

Visible active novel ZnFe₂O₄/BN heterostructured nanocomposites with different wt% of BN nanosheets were prepared using a solvothermal method. Their structural, morphological and optical properties were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV-Visible spectrophotometry, Photoluminescence (PL) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. The photocatalytic performance of ZnFe₂O₄/BN hybrid nanocomposites was evaluated towards oxidative degradation of organic pollutants such as Congo red (CR) and tetracycline (TC) under visible light irradiation. The porous BN nanosheets act as a catalytic support and enhance the photoactivity of ZnFe₂O₄ in the nanocomposite. The results also indicated that the presence of BN nanosheets lowers the recombination rate and shows significantly improved separation of the photo-induced electron–hole pairs in ZnFe₂O₄/BN when compared to bare ZnFe₂O₄. Among the different ZnFe₂O₄/BN nanocomposites, 9.3 wt% of BN loaded ZnFe₂O₄ hybrid was found to show the most efficient photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of Congo Red and tetracycline under visible light irradiation. The apparent rate constant values of ZnFe₂O₄/9.3% BN were found to be three and five times higher than that of bare ZnFe₂O₄ in the degradation of CR and TC respectively.