Domestic microwave assisted one-step co-precipitation of Ag–CuO nanocomposite of Cu/Ag ratio optimized for photocatalysis and comparison with blending CuO with Ag nanoparticles

Abstract

The Ag–CuO metal–semiconductor nanocomposite (NC) is an important component in various nanomaterial-based applications. Several approaches have been studied to facilitate its synthesis. However, most of them encounter some drawbacks. In the present work, we show the synthesis of Ag–CuO NCs through one-pot co-precipitation with the aid of simple starting chemicals and measures including metal nitrates, hexamine, agar, and domestic microwave heating. Photocatalyzed degradation of Congo Red in addition to the structural and optical characteristics show that this method is successful in production of the Schottky barrier in Ag–CuO NCs with improved photocatalytic activity (PCA). Changing the Cu content shows that the NC is not successfully formed at low Cu mol%. Consequently, the PCA of Ag–CuO of low Cu (2%–6%) lies within 4.5 × 10−4 – 5.1 × 10−4 min−1, which is even lower than those of plain Ag and CuO nanoparticles (6.0 × 10−4 – 8.1 × 10−4 min−1, respectively). 60 mol% was the optimum Cu content with the highest PCA (18.8 × 10−4 min−1). Blending plain Ag and CuO nanoparticles to mimic the co-precipitated 60 mol% Ag–CuO showed very low PCA, even lower than the plain Ag and CuO, which once again confirms the efficiency of the simple one-pot co-precipitation approach in producing Ag–CuO with the Schottky barrier and promoted PCA.