Synthesis of a magnetically removable visible-light photocatalyst based on nickel-doped zinc ferrite

In this study, a facile method to synthesize magnetically removable visible-light photocatalysts based on nickel-doped zinc ferrites is presented. Ferrite semiconductor ceramics with the general formula Zn1-xNixFe2O4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5, Δx = 0.1) were prepared by high-energy ball milling followed by annealing at 873 K. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the spinel single-phase Fd-3m without secondary phases for all compositions. The slight decrease in lattice parameters confirmed the presence of Ni2+ ions in the crystal structure because Ni had a smaller ionic radius than Zn. Raman spectroscopy demonstrated that Ni2+ ions were distributed on both tetrahedral and octahedral sites, which increased the inversion parameter and affected the photocatalytic efficiency and ferromagnetism. Magnetic hysteresis loops suggested an increase in the specific magnetization as the doping content increased, enabling magnetic recovery and reuse of the photocatalyst in water remediation. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy showed a reduction in the band gap values with increasing nickel content, which was attributed to forming a sub-level in the band structure in the presence of Ni2+. Photocatalytic tests revealed a degradation efficiency higher than 60%, confirming that the doped samples obtained by high-energy ball milling were highly efficient and easily removable photocatalytic materials.