Novel ternary composites: Preparation, performance and application of ZnFe2O4/TiO2/polyaniline

•The hollow ZnFe2O4/TiO2/PANI composites were prepared and characterized.•The composites showed the excellent photocatalytic activity on RhB and MO, and could be readily recovered and utilized.•When mass fraction of aniline was up to 50%, photocatalytic activity of the ternary composite on both MO and RhB reached 98%.•The photocatalytic degradation mechanism of samples was revealed. A series of ZnFe2O4/TiO2/polyaniline ternary composites with excellent photocatalytic activity were successfully synthesized by chemical method. The phase composition, morphology, conductivity, electrical and magnetic performances of the as-samples were characterized by means of modern measurement technology. And the photocatalytic degradation activity tests for the samples were estimated using rhodamine B (RhB) and methyl orange (MO) as targeted pollutants. The results indicated that there existed some interactions between each component in the ternary composites, and the electrical conductivities and photocatalytic degradation activities of the ternary composites were improved due to the coating of polyaniline. Moreover, when the mass fraction of aniline was up to 50%, the ternary composite exhibited a great decontaminating (including photocatalytic degradation and adsorption) activity of on both MO and RhB and displayed an excellent reusability.