Novel 3D hierarchical nanostructure of Fe3O4/ZnO hybrid composites for enhanced solar light photocatalytic performance

In this work, we focus on synthesizing 3D hierarchical Fe3O4/ZnO hybrid nanostructures to improve the solar light photodegradation activity and magnetic reusability of the ZnO semiconductor. These hierarchical nanostructures (defined as 3D Fe3O4/ZnO HSt) were successfully synthesized using a simple sol–gel process with an average diameter of 200 nm. Analyses of surface area measurement, optical, magnetic, and photocatalytic properties reveal that 3D Fe3O4/ZnO HSt exhibits high specific surface area, redshift light absorption with a bandgap of 2.95 eV, and good magnetic response with saturation of 8.1 emu/g. As a result of its unique morphology, 3D Fe3O4/ZnO HSt displays good ability in the degradation of RhB under simulated solar light irradiation because of the high surface area, enhanced solar light absorption, and effective separation of charge carriers. The potential mechanism for the photodegradation of RhB of the 3D hierarchical Fe3O4/ZnO hybrid materials under solar light irradiation was proposed.