Fabrication of hybrid covalent triazine framework-zinc ferrite spinel to uplift visible light–driven photocatalytic organic pollutant degradation

The tunability of porous covalent triazine frameworks (CTFs) can mitigate poor photostability and rapid hole-electron recombination. Herein, an excellent improvement of visible light–driven photocatalytic pollutant degradation was achieved using a hybrid semiconductor of covalent triazine framework-zinc ferrite spinel catalysts (CTF-ZnFe2O4). The as-prepared CTFZnFe2O4 composites were fabricated using a facile one-pot ionothermal method. The hybrid photocatalysts were identified using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM–EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and UV–visible diffuse reflection spectroscopy (UV–vis DRS) characterizations. The analysis reveals that hybridization successfully ensued and altered the crystallinity structure, morphology, surface area, and bandgap energy of hybrid material. It was found that CTF-ZnFe2O4 90:10 is very effective for the degradation of MB in a UV–vis light photocatalytic process with the efficiency of 95.4% and kobs of 0.421 min−1 for degradation of 50 mg/L MB with 0.5 g/L dosages for 120 min. Additionally, the scavenger study, effect of additional oxidants, and stability were performed for the practical application of a hybrid photocatalyst. CTF-ZnFe2O4 90:10 shows outstanding pollutant degradation in sunlight irradiation and high stability with only a 5.2% reduction after a five-times sequential recycling process. Moreover, the photocatalytic mechanism of as-prepared CTF-ZnFe2O4 was mainly influenced by O∙−2 radical compared to h+vb and ∙OH radicals. Overall, The as-prepared CTF-ZnFe2O4 shows significant potential to be utilized for photocatalytic wastewater treatment.