Abstract

Nanostructure ZnO and Ag/ZnO were successfully synthesized from rice husk via an eco-friendly sol-gel method. Structural investigations by FT-IR and DR/UV-Vis analyses confirmed the successful inclusion of metal species into the silica framework. XRD and TEM studies evidenced the well-dispersion of silver and zinc onto the silica support. Modification of ZnO with Ag resulted in the maximum photocatalytic activity (90.5 %) of methylene blue, (40 mgL-1) under compact fluorescent lamp irradiation. Minimal agglomeration, high dispersion and narrow band gap energy of Ag/ZnO was suggested to contribute to its excellent photocatalytic activity in comparison to ZnO.

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