Electrospinning synthesis and photocatalytic property of Fe2O3/MgFe2O4 heterostructure for photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline

Abstract Fe 2 O 3 /MgFe 2 O 4 nanofibers with heterostructure had been successfully synthesized by electrospinning method. The obtained samples were systematically characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra (UV–vis DR). The novel Fe 2 O 3 /MgFe 2 O 4 nanofibers exhibit an enhanced photocatalytic activity for degrading of tetracycline (TC) under visible light. Compared with bare Fe 2 O 3 or MgFe 2 O 4 samples, the prepared Fe 2 O 3 /MgFe 2 O 4 (Fe:Mg=0.4:2.6) composited nanofibers show the best photocatalytic performance with a degradation efficiency of 48.7% after 2 h reaction time. This enhancement is attributed to the heterostructure of Fe 2 O 3 /MgFe 2 O 4 nanofibers, which effectively repress the recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes.