Oxygen‐Vacancies‐Induced Enhancement in Photocatalystic Performance of Sea Urchin‐Like Fe 3 O 4 @ZnO Hollow Core–Shell Structures

• Published in: Physica status solidi. A, Applications and materials science Vol. 218; no. 21
• Main Authors: Yang, Shuo, Pan, Mengqu, Chen, Jiayou, Wang, Lili, Guo, Chenzi, Han, Donglai, Yang, Lili
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.11.2021
• ISSN: 1862-6300; 1862-6319
• DOI: 10.1002/pssa.202100421

A novel sea urchin‐like Fe 3 O 4 @ZnO (S‐FZ) hollow core–shell photocatalyst is developed, which achieves about fourfold higher photocatalystic degradation efficiency (84.4%) than the waxberry‐type Fe 3 O 4 @ZnO (W‐FZ) photocatalyst due to its larger specific surface area. After postannealing at different temperatures under argon atmosphere, the photocatalystic degradation efficiency of S‐FZ is effectively improved. When the annealing temperature is 500 °C, the degradation efficiency of S‐FZ hollow core–shell structures is further improved to 99%, which is related to the synergistic effect of high density of oxygen vacancies. Such S‐FZ catalysts are easily separated with a magnet and reused with only 2% loss in photocatalystic degradation efficiency after five circles. Herein, a practical approach toward high‐efficient and recyclable photocatalysts is provided.