Magnetically separable coreshell ZnFe2O4@ZnO nanoparticles for visible

light photodegradation of methyl orange

Suresh D. Kulkarni*, Sagar Kumbar, Samvit G. Menon, K.S. Choudhari, Santhosh C.
Department of Atomic and Molecular Physics, Manipal University, Manipal, Karnataka 576104, India

Fig. 5. Kubelka Munk plots for bandgap determination of ZnO, ZnFe2O4 and Fig. 4. FT-IR spectra of (a) ZnFe2O4 (b) ZnO and (c) ZnFe2O4@ZnO nanoparticles. ZnFe2O4@ZnO nanoparticles.

3.3. Bandgap measurements

The optical bandgaps of the synthesized nanoparticles were determined from the UVvisible diffuse reflectance spectra. The diffuse reflectance is related to the
Kulbelka-Munk function by the equation F(R) = (1 R)2/2R, where R is the diffuse reflectance of the sample. This spectra gives direct band to band transitions and
with the help of the Kubelka Munk theory, the bandgap of the sample can be calculated. Extrapolation of the linear portion of the modified Kubelka Munk function,
[F(R) hy]2 vs. the photon energy (hy) curve on the zero ordinate gives the Eg of the sample (Fig. 5).

The band gap of ZnO and ZnFe2O4 were found to be 3.27 eV and 2.0 eV respectively. The optical absorption edge for the ZnFe 2O4@ZnO nanocomposite was
observed at 560 nm which corresponds to a bandgap energy of 2.2 eV. An additional absorption edge is observed around 380 nm, corresponding to a bandgap
energy of 3.2 eV. This suggests that the ZnFe2O4@ZnO nanocomposite absorbs all wavelengths from visible to UV region and thus suitable for both UV and
visible light photocatalysis.

Preparation and photocatalytic application of ZnAFe2O4@ZnO coreshell nanostructures

Rahmatollah Rahimi, Mahdi Heidari-Golafzani, Mahboubeh Rabbani
Department of Chemistry, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran 16846-13114, Iran

3.4. DRS spectroscopy

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy of ZnAFe2O4 particles and ZnAFe2O4@ZnO nanohallow sphere samples illustrated in Fig. 4. As can be seen, ZnAFe2O4 has
strong absorption in the visible light range; also ZnAFe2O4@ZnO nanohallow spheres have absorption in this range. Results obtained from two samples are same
because ZnAFe2O4 has much more impact on band-gap than ZnO. For ZnAFe2O4@ZnO nanohallow spheres, there is considerable absorption in the visible range
confirming that the nanohallow spheres are composed of, ZnAFe2O4 and ZnO counterparts. Hence, it can be concluded that the nanohal-low sphere could have
photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation. The band gap for ZnAFe2O4 and ZnAFe2O4@ZnO particles are shown in inset of Fig. 4.
Fig. 4. The UVVis DRS and the band gap for ZnO, ZnAFe2O4 and ZnAFe2O4@ZnO.