Investigation of nano Ag-decorated SiC particles for photoelectrocatalytic dye degradation and bacterial inactivation

Abstract

Spherical silver nanoparticles (Ag–NPs) were grown on near spherical β-SiC to assess the photocatalytic and antibacterial performance in the perspective of the future development of Ag decorated SiC porous membrane for next generation water treatment. A classic hierarchical structure of Ag on SiC (Ag@SiC) particles was developed in the presence of different percentage of 1, 3, and 5 wt% Ag. These were evaluated for the photocatalytic (PC) degradation behavior of organic dyes and E.coli under irradiation of UV-light. The optimum 3 wt% Ag-decorated β-SiC photocatalyst enhances the rate of dye degradation in the presence of external potential of 3 V. Schottky barrier formation in the interface between Ag@SiC improves the charge separation and consequently enhances the efficiency of the degradation process. Strong antimicrobial effect is observed at lower potential that can be attributed to effective charge transfer by metallic silver thereby suppressing the probable recombination through active separation. The catalyst were found stable and analyzed in the perspective of reuse and reproducibility. Thus, nano Ag (3 wt%) @β-SiC is a prospective material for water treatment.