MOF-derived La–ZnFe2O4@Fe3O4@carbon magnetic hybrid composite as a highly efficient and recyclable photocatalyst for mycotoxins degradation

During the planting, storage, or feeding stages, foodstuffs can be easily polluted by mycotoxins such as aflatoxin B 1 , patulin and zearalenone, which are produced by pathogenic microorganisms. Therefore, the removal of these mycotoxins constitutes an active area of research. Herein, we used an Fe/Zn metal–organic framework (MOF) as a precursor to fabricate a novel La–ZnFe 2 O 4 @Fe 3 O 4 @carbon magnetic hybrid composite via a simple absorption–pyrolysis method and explored its photocatalytic performance in the degradation of aflatoxin B 1 , patulin, and zearalenone. La–ZnFe 2 O 4 @Fe 3 O 4 @carbon can effectively degrade 98.37% of aflatoxin B 1 , outperforming Fe 3 O 4 @carbon (69.57%) and ZnFe 2 O 4 @Fe 3 O 4 @carbon (91.39%). Moreover, La–ZnFe 2 O 4 @Fe 3 O 4 @carbon exhibits superior stability and excellent photocatalytic activity for the degradation of patulin (97.35%) and zearalenone (98.52%). Transient photocurrent response measurements reveal that the La doping and the combination with ZnFe 2 O 4 highly promote the separation of photoinduced electron–hole pairs on Fe 3 O 4 @carbon. An electron spin resonance analysis suggests that · OH and · O 2 − are the main active radicals during the photodegradation process. Thus, a plausible photodegradation pathway for the degradation of mycotoxins produced by pathogenic microorganisms is proposed.