Enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic removal of refractory pollutants by Zn/Fe mixed metal oxide derived from layered double hydroxide

In this study, two typical refractory organic pollutants, methylene blue (MB) and tetracycline (TC) was effectively degraded under visible-light irradiation catalyzed by Zn/Fe mixed metal oxide (Zn/Fe-MMO) nanocomposite, which derived from the high-temperature calcination of Zn/Fe layered double hydroxide (Zn/Fe-LDH). The Zn/Fe-MMO was composed of wurzite ZnO phases and spinel-structured ZnFe2O4. The Zn/Fe-MMO exhibited superior photocatalytic activity than Zn/Fe-LDH precursor owing to the better crystallinity, broader visible light adsorption, and higher photo-generated electron-hole pairs separation efficiency. Simple assembling method, high photocatalytic activity to the degradation of organic pollutants and good reusability make Zn/Fe-MMO has great potential in practical wastewater treatment.