CTAB-mediated synthesis and characterization of ZnO/Ag core–shell nanocomposites

Band gap-engineered ZnO and Ag/ZnO by ball-milling method and their photocatalytic and Fenton-like photocatalytic activities

“…For the reference ZnO, a major peak was observed at 438 cm -1 , which was assigned to the E 2 (high) mode. Smaller peaks were also observed at 332, 383 and ~580 cm -1 , which were assigned to the E 2H -E 2L , A 1 (TO) and M a n u s c r i p t 10 A 1 &E 1 (LO) modes, respectively [29,35,44]. For the ball-milled samples, the E 2 (high) mode at 438 cm -1 decreased drastically.…”

“…For the bare ZnO at an excitation wavelength of 250 nm, two peaks were observed at 400 and 480 nm. The former peak was assigned to near band edge (NBE) emission [28], whereas the latter was due to defects [25,32,44,54,55]. At a longer excitation wavelength of 280 nm, the intensity of the former peak showed no critical change in the peak position while that of the latter peak showed an increase in intensity accompanying a peak shift to 500 nm.…”

“…Ansari et al promoted oxygen vacancies in pure ZnO using an electrochemically active biofilm and observed an enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity, attributed the increased vacancies [21]. AgZnO composite materials have been prepared by a range of methods [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10], which include flame spray pyrolysis [33], electrochemical biogenic synthesis [14], photoreduction, and chemical reduction methods [44], Liang et al employed a hydrothermal method (using Zn nitrate and urea in water) to synthesize porous 3D flower-like Ag/ZnO heterostructures, deposited Ag using a photoreduction method, and observed an enhanced photodegradation rate for rhodamine (RhB) under UV light [27]. When Ag was deposited on the ZnO, the photoreduction medium was found to be very important.…”

Dual functional reduced graphene oxide as photoanode and counter electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells and its exceptional efficiency enhancement

“…The combination of Ag nanoparticles with ZnO nanorods can offer unique optical, electronic, and thermal characteristics [29]. Ag acts as electron sinks and it improves the interfacial charge transfer process by minimizing charge recombination, thus improving the efficiency of Ag/ZnO composites [30,31].…”

g-C3N4/Ag3PO4 composites with synergistic effect for increased photocatalytic activity under the visible light irradiation

“…This type of photocatalyst often appears in the reported literature, such as g-C 3 N 4 /WO 3 [23], ZnO/Ag [25], Ag/AgI/BiOI [26][27][28]. These composite photocatalysts not only can extend the range of the light absorption, but also overcome the recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes, which may improve photocatalytic activity of the pure-component sample [12].…”