Comparison of magnetic properties, particle sizes, porosity and photocatalytic activities of ZrFe2O4 prepared via three methods

Magnetic nanoparticles based on ZrFe2O4 [1] were prepared via three methods: solvothermal, microwave-assisted solvothermal and combustion [2,3]. By comparison, the latter two methods have reduced the synthesis time to 45 minutes by using a pressurized microwave reactor without the requirement of further post-treatments such as calcination, for combustion method, the time was less than 10 minutes. The characterization of the compound in terms of the structure, composition, morphology and magnetic properties was done by XRD, FE-SEM, EDX, VSM, BET, TGA and DRS, which emphasizes the mesoporous being of the particles. In application processes, the photocatalytic activity of the prepared compounds for degradation of the methylene blue was investigated by the UV-Vis spectroscopy [4]. The optimal particle size is one of the advantages of combustion and microwave-assisted solvothermal methods, but they have not exhibited photocatalytic activity as effective as the solvothermal technique.