Zinc Oxide/ Silver Sulfide (ZnO/Ag<sub>2</sub>S) Core-Shell Type Composite for Wide Range Absorption of Visible Spectra: Synthesis and Characterization

Abstract

This work presents the synthesis of zinc oxide /silver sulfide (ZnO/Ag2S) core/shell type composite; using combined wet chemical precipitation method and ion exchange mechanism; for wide range absorption of visible spectra by the composite. Synthesis is performed in three steps. In the first step; ZnO nanoparticles (nanocores) are produced, in the second step; ZnS layer is deposited over ZnO nanocores and in the third step; Zn from ZnS is replaced by Ag to form Ag2S shell over ZnO; using ion exchange mechanism. The presence of reflection peaks of ZnO and Ag2S in XRD spectra confirms the formation of ZnO/Ag2S composite. SEM image of ZnO shows the formation of near spherical ZnO nanoparticles of diameter in range 256nm to 584nm with a smooth surface, while SEM image of ZnO/Ag2S composite shows the formation of Ag2S layer over ZnO cores as indicated by rougher and contrasted surface as compared to bare ZnO cores. Also, the size of composite particles became larger than ZnO nanocores (100µm-200µm), which further confirms the formation of Ag2S shell over ZnO nanocores. The optical absorption spectrums of both ZnO and ZnO/Ag2S composite clearly indicate that synthesized composite absorb strongly in UV to IR region of the electromagnetic spectrum as compared to ZnO nanocores; which absorb only in UV region. Therefore, the synthesized composite could be used as a photovoltaic material.