Abstract
Ag/ZnO photocatalysts with different silver content (0, 1, 2, and 3 mol%) were fabricated through a hydrothermal method. Characterization results of XRD showed the ZnO was a hexagonal wurtzite structure, and the Ag was a face-centered cubic (fcc) structure. The morphologies results suggested that the particles with nonuniform shapes (nano-rods, nano-spheres, and nano-sheets). UV–Vis DRS absorbance spectra unveiled a decrease in the band gap for Ag/ZnO with the introduction of Ag, indicating the improvement of visible light absorption. All Ag/ZnO samples demonstrated great photocatalytic activity (the highest reached 96.7% within 40 min) and were better than commercial ZnO and as-prepared ZnO samples. The introduction of Ag nanoparticles with the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect can significantly improve the photocatalytic performance for Ag/ZnO photocatalysts. Moreover, ·O2− was proved to be the primary active group in the photoreaction. The Ag/ZnO photocatalysts also had good recycling stability and still maintained a high photodegradation rate (93.7%) after five recycles.
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