CHEN Wei, LI Yan, XU Haiyan

(Anhui Key Laboratory of Advanced Building Materials, Anhui University of Architecture, Hefei an'hui 230022, China)

Abstract:Nickel -zinc ferrite powders were prepared by coprecipitation method, and magnetically separable Cu2O/nickel -zinc ferrite photocatalyst was prepared by hydrazine hydrate reduction method. The as-prepared sample was characterized by X -ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The photocatalytic activities of magnetically separable Cu2O/nickel-zinc ferrite photocatalyst were investigated by the degradation of methyl orange. The results show that the composite Cu2O-coated nickel-zinc ferrite powders had higher photocatalytic activity for methyl orange solution. In addition, its photocatalytic efficiency could be maintained at 81% when it was repeatedly used for 4 times. The magnetically separable Cu2O/nickel-zinc ferrite photocatalyst could be separated from the system by applying an external magnetic field to it. It's considered that the Cu2O-coated nickel-zinc ferrite is a promising photocatalyst.

Key words: Cu2O; nickel-zinc ferrite; coated; photocatalysis; magnetic separation