Synthesis and characterization of Ag@ZnO nanostructures for photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B: influence of calcination temperature and Ag content

Abstract

Hydrangea-like Ag@ZnO nanostructures were synthesized utilizing aqueous solution method, followed by calcination at different temperatures in air. The crystal structure, surface morphology and chemical state of synthesized nanostructures were analyzed. The results showed that hydrangea-like Ag@ZnO architectures exhibited the diameters in the range of 1.54–3.54 μm and decorated with Ag nanoparticles approximately 15 nm. The photocatalytic experiments were conducted on the as-prepared Ag@ZnO samples for photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B after calcinations from 400 to 900 °C. The measured results demonstrate that both the calcination temperature and the content of Ag can significant influence the photocatalytic activities. Moreover, the 0.5 mol% Ag@ZnO exhibits the highest photocatalytic activity under the optimum calcination temperature of 700 °C. This study indicates that the as-prepared Ag@ZnO nanostructures have promising potential applications in the fields such as photocatalysis, solar energy conversion and sensing detection.