Preparation and photocatalytic properties of a novel kind of loaded photocatalyst of TiO2/SiO2/γ‐Fe2O3

A novel kind of loaded photocatalyst of TiO2/SiO2/γ‐Fe2O3 (TSF) that can photodegrade effectively organic pollutants in the dispersion system and can be recycled easily by a magnetic field is reported in this paper. The γ‐Fe2O3 cores in TiO2/γ‐Fe2O3 are found to reduce the activity of the TiO2 photocatalyst in the photodegradation of dyes under either UV or visible light irradiation. Addition of a SiO2 membrane between the γ‐Fe2O3 core and the TiO2 shell weakens efficiently the influence of the γ‐Fe2O3 cores on the TiO2 photocatalytic activity and leads to a highly active and magnetically separable photocatalyst on TSF. Comparison of the photodegradation processes of dyes under UV and visible irradiation is also carried out.