Enhanced performance of a magnetic photocatalyst regulated using a magnetic field

A ZnFe2O4/AgBr magnetic photocatalyst was constructed to simply the structure of the Z-scheme photocatalyst, and further enhance the photocatalytic activity using the magnetoresistance (MR) effect of the system and an external magnetic field. The photocurrent density of ZnFe2O4/AgBr was 75.1 mu A/cm(2), which was higher than that of pure ZnFe2O4 (47.6 mu A/cm(2)). Whereas the photocurrent density of pure ZnFe2O4 did not notably change under a magnetic field, that of ZnFe2O4/AgBr clearly increased to 151.8 mu A/cm(2) under a magnetic field of 1000 Oe. The MR results demonstrated that ZnFe2O4/AgBr had a more negative MR than ZnFe2O4 did, therefore, the transfer of photogenerated carriers for ZnFe2O4/AgBr was quicker under the magnetic field. The existence of this magnetic field-enhanced effect can replace the role of the electron transfer bridge, and simply the Z-scheme structure. In addition, the photodegradation activity of ZnFe2O4/AgBr for organic pollutants also got obvious enhancement under the magnetic field.

Automated summary

In this study, a ZnFe2O4/AgBr magnetic photocatalyst was constructed to simplify the structure of the Z-scheme photocatalyst and enhance its photocatalytic activity using the magnetoresistance effect and an external magnetic field. The photocurrent density of ZnFe2O4/AgBr was higher than that of pure ZnFe2O4, and showed a notable increase under a magnetic field. The magnetic field-enhanced effect also improved the photodegradation activity of ZnFe2O4/AgBr for organic pollutants.