Wastewaters of the textile industry, e.g., those generated in Gresik, Indonesia, are a possible threat to the environment and should be treated before disposal. Photodegradation is a more promising method to overcome this problem than conventional methods such as biodegradation. ZnO is widely used for photodegradation due to its unique physical and chemical properties and stability. In this study, Ag was loaded onto ZnO, which is non-toxic and inexpensive, can improve the electron–hole separation, and has a significant catalytic potential. Pristine ZnO and ZnO-Ag nanoparticles were fabricated by an ultrasonic spray pyrolysis system at different Ag contents (1, 5, and 10 wt%). The carrier gas ratio (O2:N2) was also changed (1:0, 1:2, 1:1, 2:1, and 0:1) to examine its effects on the nanoparticle characteristics. The nanoparticle characteristics were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) specific surface area. The results were interpreted in relation to photodegradation under UV light irradiation. An increase in the ZnO-Ag activity compared with pristine ZnO was observed at a carrier gas ratio of 0:1 with reaction rate constants of 0.0059 and 0.0025 min−1, respectively.
Ag–TiO2 nanocomposite films, based of Ag and TiO2 nanoparticles, were fabricated in a one-step aerosol route employing the simultaneous plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition and physical vapor deposition systems. The as-fabricated films were subjected to different heating rates (3 to 60 °C/min) with a constant annealing temperature of 600 °C to observe the significant changes in the properties (e.g., nanoparticle size, crystalline size, crystallite phase, surface area) toward the photocatalytic performance. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the measurement of the degradation of a methylene blue aqueous solution under UV light irradiation, and the results revealed that it gradually increased with the increase in the heating rate, caused by the increased Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) specific surface area and total pore volume.
Flame pyrolysis is widely used for the fabrication of particles because of great crystallinity and fine size distribution of the products. In this research, ZnO-Ag particle materials have been favourably made by flame pyrolysis. The impacts of Ag loading varying from 0 to 20 wt% on the photocatalytic activity of ZnO-Ag particle under ultraviolet (UV) and sunlight irradiations were studied. ZnO-Ag particles were fabricated based on zinc acetate dihydrate (Zn(CH3COO)2.2H2O) 0.1 M and silver nitrate (AgNO3) as a precursor inside a flame reactor. Crystallinity and morphology of ZnO-Ag particles were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. SEM analysis showed that the particles had irregular sphere-like shapes. The XRD patterns showed that the produced ZnO had a wurtzite structure with different crystallite sizes. XRD analysis also confirmed the existence of Ag particles in ZnO-Ag particles after the addition of Ag greater or equal to 5 wt%. The existence of Ag was indicated by the appearance of the XRD peak at 38.1°. The peak at 38.1° increased with the increase of Ag loading. Finally, the photocatalytic activity was evaluated by estimating the degradation of methylene blue aqueous solution under UV and sunlight irradiations. It noted that the most excellent photocatalytic performance was achieved at 5 wt% Ag loading for both irradiations.
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