A novel visible-light-driven ternary magnetic photocatalyst MnxZn1-xFe2O4/C/CdS: Fabrication, characterization and application

Abstract A novel composite magnetic photocatalyst MnxZn1-xFe2O4/C/CdS (MCC) was prepared via hydrothermal and chemical precipitation method. This work hopes to provide an operable and simple method for the improvement of toxic photocatalysts with excellent photocatalytic activity. The CdS-based photocatalyst (MCC10) with 10 wt% MnxZn1-xFe2O4/C (MC) magnetic carbon protective layer shows the optimum photocatalytic activity in degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation (λ ≥ 420 nm). This nanocomposite exhibits superparamagnetic property with a saturation magnetization of 2.17 emu/g. Besides, it is demonstrated that the ternary magnetic nanocomposite has superior stability and reusability during five recycling experiments. The introduction of the carbon interlayer can restrain the direct contact of the MnxZn1-xFe2O4 and CdS to a great extent, resulting in the increase separation efficiency of the photo-induced electron-hole pairs, photo-corrosion resistance and then highly visible-light-driven photodegradation capability. Moreover, the analysis of the radical scavengers confirmed that ·O2- is the primary reactive species to cause the degradation of the RhB.