Construction of Dual Electric Field Synergistic and Magnetic Recyclable SnFe₂O₄/ZnO Photocatalyst

The recombination of photoinduced carriers hampers the photocatalysis process. Construction of the heterojunction and built-in piezoelectric field boosts the separation of electrons and holes. Herein, a novel magnetic recyclable SnFe₂O₄(SFO)/ZnO composite with enhanced photocatalytic performance based on the dual electric field synergism was proposed for the first time. This composite apparently alleviates the carrier recombination in SFO and extends the absorption spectrum of ZnO to the full spectrum. Consequently, 20%SFO/ZnO exhibits an excellent efficiency, which is 2.45 times that of ZnO and 4.61 times that of SFO, respectively. The differences in size and morphology between the SFO nanoparticles and the ZnO nanorods provide more contact areas, thus enlarging the deformation and enhancing the piezoelectric effect. The heterojunction and the piezoelectric field work together to modulate the transferring of carriers and elevate the photocatalytic activity. This design offers a plausible avenue for preparing efficient recyclable photocatalysts for application.