Self-grown Ag2O nanoparticles on Ag-NASICON material for efficient visible light photocatalysis

Abstract

Ag-containing semiconductors have gained great attention due to their outstanding visible light-responsive photocatalytic properties. In the current work, silver oxide (Ag2O) nanoparticles were in situ self-grown on the surface of AgZr2(PO4)3 NASICON-type material using sodium hydroxide-assisted precipitation to form an Ag2O/Ag1-xNaxZr2(PO4)3 nanocomposite. The crystalline structures, morphological observations, elemental composition, and optical properties of the prepared product were carried out using various characterization methods. The photocatalytic performance of Ag2O/Ag1-xNaxZr2(PO4)3 has then been explored in the decomposition of methyl orange (MO) wastewater pollutant under visible light. The obtained photocatalyst exhibited excellent decomposition efficiency (95.08 %, k = 0.0303 min−1) for MO removal within 60 min. In addition, the prepared nanocomposite exhibited proper reusability even after five successive cycles without any significant loss in photocatalytic activities. Furthermore, a simple catalyst regeneration strategy based on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was adopted, revealing that the spent photocatalyst can achieve nearly total self-regeneration to the initial AgZr2(PO4)3 material.