A new strategy for the preparation of porous zinc ferrite nanorods with subsequently light-driven photocatalytic activity

Porous zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4) nanorods have been synthesized by the thermal decomposition of ZnFe2(C2O4)3 nanorods precursor, which was prepared by template-, surfactant-free solvothermal method. The morphology and structure of the obtained ZnFe2(C2O4)3 nanorods precursor and porous ZnFe2O4 nanorods were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The results indicated that the as-synthesized ZnFe2O4 retained the precursor morphology of 1D nanorods with diameters of 100–200 nm and lengths of several micrometers and plenty of nanoparticles were interconnected to each other to form porous nanorods. The as-prepared ZnFe2O4 nanorods as a kind of subsequently light-driven photocatalyst exhibited good photocatalytic decomposition activity for methylene blue (MB).

► A new strategy for synthesizing 1D porous ZnFe2O4 nanorods was demonstrated.
► Porous ZnFe2O4 nanorods were built by nanocrystals via the precursor templates.
► The as-prepared ZnFe2O4 nanorods as a kind of subsequently light-driven photocatalyst show good photocatalytic decomposition activity for methylene blue (MB).