ZnO/ZnFe2O4 nanocomposite as a broadspectrum photo-Fenton-like photocatalyst with near-infrared activity

The majority of current photocatalysts are generally excited under ultraviolet (UV) and visible light, while near-infrared (NIR) light accounting for nearly half of solar light has not been fully used. Herein, a ZnO/ ZnFe2O4 nanocomposite with the ability to degrade an organic dye in the presence of H2O2 under NIR irradiation was prepared by a co-precipitation method followed by calcination at 800 degrees C. As revealed by optical absorption analysis, the ZnO/ZnFe2O4 nanocomposite exhibits significant optical absorption in the UV, visible and NIR light regions. Benefitting from this unique photo-absorption property and the generation of reactive. OH mainly by the reaction of photogenerated electrons with H2O2, the ZnO/ ZnFe2O4 nanocomposite performs well in photodegrading methyl orange under either UV, visible or NIR irradiation. Moreover, the UV, visible and NIR photocatalytic activities of the ZnO/ZnFe2O4 nanocomposite did not change significantly after three runs of recycling. This finding opens a new approach for fully utilizing solar light energy, especially the energy of NIR light.