Polypyrrole-Decorated Ag-TiO₂ Nanofibers Exhibiting Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity under Visible-Light Illumination

Abstract

In this work, a novel photocatalyst, polypyrrole (PPy)-decorated Ag-TiO2 nanofibers (PPy-Ag-TiO2) with core-shell structure, was successfully synthesized using an electrospinning technique, followed by a surfactant-directed in situ chemical polymerization method. The results show that a PPy layer was formed on the surface of Ag-TiO2 nanofiber, which is beneficial for protecting Ag nanoparticles from being oxidized. Meanwhile, the PPy-Ag-TiO2 system exhibits remarkable light absorption in the visible region and high photocurrent. Among them, the 1%-PPy-Ag-TiO2 sample shows the highest photoactivity, which is far exceeds that of the single- and two-component systems. This result may be due to the synergistic effect of Ag, PPy, and TiO2 nanostructures in the ternary system.

Synthesis and Characterization of Ag-Ag2O/TiO2@polypyrrole Heterojunction for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue

“…Therefore, photogenerated e − from Ag2O can be transferred by metallic Ag (Ag + /Ag: 0.7991 V, vs. SHE) to the O2 and thereby generate O2 •− and • OH radicals (e − + O2+ H2O→O2 •− + • OH) through a chain of reactions [10,21]. In the combined system Ag/TiO2@PPy, π orbital becomes the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest occupied molecular orbital level (LUMO) of PPy is energetically higher than the CB edge of rutile TiO2 (3.0 eV) [9]. When PPy is harvested in visible light, the photogenerated e − are transferred to the excited state and these e − can be readily injected into the CB of TiO2 and photogenerated h + channeled by the PPy to the solid solution interface, which generates hydroxyl radicals (h + + H2O→ • OH + H + ).…”

“…[10,21]. In the combined system Ag/TiO 2 @PPy, π orbital becomes the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest occupied molecular orbital level (LUMO) of PPy is energetically higher than the CB edge of rutile TiO 2 (3.0 eV) [9]. When PPy is harvested in visible light, the photogenerated e´are transferred to the excited state and these e´can be readily injected into the CB of …”

Novel Synthesis of Plasmonic Ag/AgCl@TiO2 Continues Fibers with Enhanced Broadband Photocatalytic Performance

“…[9,10], and depositing with noble metals (Au and Ag, etc.) [11][12][13][14]. Ag 0 nanoparticles-modified TiO 2 exhibits excellent activity under visible light resulting from the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) [15,16], which is induced by the nano-size and morphology of Ag 0 [17,18].…”

Synthesis of TiO2-Ag Nanocomposites via Green Route for Dye Degradation and Antimicrobial Studies

“…Silver nanoparticles have attracted great attention due to their unusual optical, chemical, magnetic, electronic, catalyst and antibacterial properties [3]. The noble metal nanoparticles have good dispersity on the particles of the TiO 2 support, resulting in excellent catalytic activities [4]. Further TiO 2 support enhances the antibacterial effect of silver nanoparticles.…”