Nonquenching of charge carriers by Fe3O4 core in Fe3O4/ZnO nanosheet photocatalyst

Fe3O4-implanted ZnO and pristine ZnO nanosheets have been synthesized hydrothermally. High-resolution scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, elemental mapping, selected area electron diffractometry, powder X-ray diffractometry, Raman spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, solid state impedance spectroscopy, UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy show implantation of Fe3O4 in ZnO nanosheets. Fe3O4 core with ZnO shell is of type I core/shell heterostructure which is to quench charge carriers and suppress photocatalysis. But the photocatalytic activity is not suppressed on implantation of Fe3O4 in ZnO nanosheets, and time controlled single photon counting lifetime spectroscopy shows that the photogenerated charge carriers are not quenched by the Fe3O4 core in the ZnO nanosheets. The composite nanosheets are photostable, reusable, and magnetically recoverable, revealing potential application in mineralization of organic pollutants.