Fabrication of magnetically recyclable ZrO2-TiO2/CoFe2O4 hollow core/shell photocatalysts: Improving photocatalytic efficiency under sunlight irradiation

TiO2 is an important material for photocatalytic oxidation to degrade organic pollutants, but its utilization under visible light is low, recovery is difficult, and stability is poor. We prepared ZrO2-TiO2/CoFe2O4 (Zr-Ti/Co) photocatalyst with hollow core-shell structure by sol-gel method and layer-by-layer self-assembly method with tetrabutyl titanate and Zirconium n-butoxide as main raw materials. The samples were characterized and analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), solid ultraviolet visible diffuse reflection (UV-Vis DRS), fluorescence (FL), ultraviolet visible absorption (UV), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). It is concluded that the TiO2 maintains a good anatase phase structure in the Zr-Ti-Co photocatalyst. Under UV light and sunlight, the degradation rate of the photocatalyst reached 96.1% and 99.7% for 60 min, respectively, for Rhodamine B (10mg/L) reaction system. And after repeated use for five times, it still showed better regeneration and reuse.