Facile synthesis and photocatalytic performance of flower‐like Ag/ZnO nanocomposites

Abstract

Flower-like Ag/ZnO nanocomposites were successfully synthesised by a facile solvothermal method. The product was characterised by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. It was found that ZnO was in the wurtzite phase and the Ag metal particles were loaded on the surface of the ZnO nanosheet. Compared with pure ZnO, the Ag/ZnO nanocomposite displayed significantly visible-light absorption, reduced PL emission intensity, and enhanced photocatalytic activity for the degradation of Rhodamine B, which could be attributed to an effective separation of the photo-generated electron-hole pairs in the nanocomposite.

Fabrication and photocatalytic properties of porous ZnO architectures

“…4. All samples exhibit intense absorption in the UV region [13]. However, compared to the other two samples, ZnO‐1 has a stronger absorption in both ultraviolet and visible regions.…”

“…With the rapid development of chemistry, the pollution in the environment, especially that originating from organic pollutants, becomes more and more serious [1,2]. Various methods have been applied to solve the problem of dye pollution, including adsorption [3][4][5], coagulation [6], biodegradation [7], homogeneous advanced oxidation [8,9] and photocatalysis [10][11][12][13]. Compared with these methods, semiconductor photocatalysis has been considered as one of the effective methods attributed to its high activity, easy operation and environmental friendliness [12].…”

Synthesis of hierarchical porous ZnO/Ag microspheres with enhanced photocatalytic activity

“…However, the rapid combination of photoinduced electrons and holes greatly reduces the photocatalytic activity of ZnO [20–23]. To improve the catalytic activity of ZnO, the heterostructure semiconductor formed by ZnO and noble metals is a promising hybrid material.…”

Preparation and photocatalytic properties of Bi2WO6/Ag/ZnO composite nanomaterials

“…These studies indicate that the incorporation of metals like silver, nickel, and copper enhances light absorption and photocatalytic activity. However, these modifications have not fully overcome the rapid recombination of electron-hole pairs, a critical barrier to maximizing photocatalytic performance [16][17][18][19][20][21].…”