Sputtering control of Ag₂O decoration configurations on ZnO nanorods and their surface arrangement effects on photodegradation ability toward methyl orange

Abstract

In this study, a combinational strategy for synthesizing ZnO nanorod arrays interlaced with Ag2O particles was proposed. Hydrothermally derived ZnO nanorod templates were sputter coated with Ag2O particles. The sputtered Ag2O particles can be decorated on the surfaces of the ZnO nanorod arrays with a randomly dispersive or continuous coverage characteristic by controlling the sputtering duration. Structural analysis revealed the formation of satisfactory crystalline ZnO–Ag2O composite nanorods through the hydrothermal and sputtering methods. The ZnO–Ag2O composite nanorods exhibited a significantly enhanced photoactivity compared with that of pristine ZnO nanorods under light irradiation. Moreover, the Ag2O content and the coverage feature of the ZnO–Ag2O composite nanorods influence the photodegradation of methyl orange solution by the composite nanorods under light irradiation. The photodegradation efficiency of the ZnO nanorods was substantially enhanced when the Ag2O particles were decorated on the surfaces in a dispersive manner. This can be attributed to the optimal content of Ag2O particles and their randomly dispersive characteristic on the surface of the composite nanorods, which resulted in the efficient transfer of photocarriers and markedly suppressed the electron–hole recombination rate.

Thermal Annealing Induced Controllable Porosity and Photoactive Performance of 2D ZnO Sheets

“…The comparison of interface charge separation efficiency for various ZnO sheets was further investigated by the Nyquist plots with and without irradiation in Figure 7 c. The radius of the arc on the Nyquist plots reflects the interface layer resistance occurring at the surface of electrode. The smaller arc radius implies higher efficiency of the charge transfer ability [ 40 , 41 ]. The results in Figure 7 c showed that the decreasing order of the semicircular radius of the ZnO sheets with formation of a porous structure by conducting thermal annealing procedures.…”

Controlled Growth of Silver Oxide Nanoparticles on the Surface of Citrate Anion Intercalated Layered Double Hydroxide

“…Silver oxide nanoparticles (SONPs) have been widely studied due to their unique optoelectronic property and high antibacterial activities. As a semiconducting material, SONPs are known to have a wide band-gap from 1.3 to 2.4 eV [1][2][3], making them suitable for photocatalytic applications, especially with the visible light-harvesting ability [4][5][6][7][8]. The SONP itself is utilized in photoelectrochemical or photocatalytic applications.…”

Surface Morphology-Dependent Functionality of Titanium Dioxide–Nickel Oxide Nanocomposite Semiconductors

“…Therefore, the photoexcited electron-hole pairs were separated more effectively by the p-n junction formed in the TiO 2 -NiO composites than that formed in the pristine TiO 2 . This enabled the formation of more free carriers on the active sides of the composites and increased the photodegradation activity of the composites [31]. In addition, the NPT showed a higher degree of photodegradation than that of the NST.…”