Ag–ZnO Nanoreactor Grown on FTO Substrate Exhibiting High Heterogeneous Photocatalytic Efficiency

Abstract

This Research Article reports an unusually high efficiency heterogeneous photodegradation of methyl orange (MO) in the presence of Ag nanoparticle-loaded ZnO quasi-nanotube or nanoreactor (A-ZNRs) nanocatalyst grown on FTO substrate. In typical process, photodegradation efficiency of as high as 21.6% per μg per Watts of used catalyst and UV power can be normally obtained within only a 60-min reaction time from this system, which is 10(3) order higher than the reported results. This is equivalent to the turnover frequency of 360 mol mol(-1) h(-1). High-density hexagonal A-ZNRs catalysts were grown directly on FTO substrate via a seed-mediated microwave-assisted hydrolysis growth process utilizing Ag nanoparticle of approximately 3 nm in size as nanoseed and mixture aqueous solution of Zn(NO3)·6H2O, hexamethylenetetramine (HMT), and AgNO3 as the growth solution. A-ZNRs adopts hexagonal cross-section morphology with the inner surface of the reactor characterized by a rough and rugged structure. Transmission electron microscopy imaging shows the Ag nanoparticle grows interstitially in the ZnO nanoreactor structure. The high photocatalytic property of the A-ZNRs is associated with the highly active of inner side's surface of A-ZNRs and the oxidizing effect of Ag nanoparticle. The growth mechanism as well as the mechanism of the enhanced-photocatalytic performance of the A-ZNRs will be discussed.

Zinc oxide supported silver nanoparticles as a heterogeneous catalyst for production of biodiesel from palm oil

“…ZnO an inexpensive, nontoxic and easily available Lewis acid is a good example of metal oxide which has widely been used as a catalyst in various chemical transformations and is widely studied. Tuning the performance and activity of nanocrystalline ZnO by doping it with Ag is of current research interest …”

“…Ghosh et al observed that NPs doped or supported with another metal boosted the catalytic efficiency to great extent due to synergistic effect . Literature reports revealed that noble metal NPs such as silver supported on other materials showed incredible applications in catalysis …”

Surface modification and immobilization in poly(acrylic acid) of Ag/ZnO for photocatalytic degradation of endocrine‐disrupting compounds

“…In addition, attempts have also been made to design ZnO photocatalysts with effective charge separation and storage of the photoexcited charges. Recently, it has been shown that loading of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on ZnO surface can reduce photocorrosion, improve absorption of visible light, and increase the photocatalytic efficiency of ZnO.…”

Two-dimensional CdS intercalated ZnO nanorods: a concise study on interfacial band structure modification

“…[12][13][14] It is noteworthy that the doping technique is an alternative way to ease the band gap tuning of the semiconductor. To validate the correlation between the band gap alignment and devices performance, in present work, we introduced a facile synthesis method to alter the single band structure to interface induced band gap states by controlling the CdS deposition cycle via successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR).…”