Ag Heterostructure Research Articles

Bipolar resistive switching behavior of bilayer β-Ga2O3/WO3 thin film memristor device

This article investigates the bipolar resistive switching behavior of bilayer Au/β-Ga2O3/WO3 thin film (TF)/Ag heterostructure memristor device deposited using an electron beam evaporation technique. The purity of the deposited sample was confirmed by the XRD and FESEM with EDS characterizations. The root mean square roughness(RRMS) of single layer WO3 TF and heterolayer of Ga2O3/WO3 TF were obtained from the AFM analysis as 4.56nm and 2.20nm, respectively. The presence of more oxygen vacancies in WO3 sample was also confirmed by the XPS analysis. The optical measurement of the sample also revealed a bandgap of ~ 4.35eV for β-Ga2O3 TF and ~ 3.66eV for WO3 TF. Moreover, the bilayer Au/β-Ga2O3/WO3 TF/Ag heterostructure memristor device demonstrated bipolar resistive switching behavior with a good resistance ratio of ~ 182, an endurance of 300 cycles, and a data retention of 103s at room temperature. The device also yielded a low SET power of 1.17mW (at 1.74mA, +0.67V) and a low RESET power of 2.50mW (at 7.16mA, – 0.35V). The logarithmic current-voltage (I-V) relationship revealed that the switching behavior of the memristor device is mainly dominated by Ohmic conduction in LRS as well as Child’s square law, TCLC and Ohmic conductions in HRS. With the above parameters, the Au/β-Ga2O3/WO3 TF/Ag memristor device has the potential for future RRAM applications.

Hybridization of the A- and B-Exciton in a WS2 Monolayer Mediated by the Transverse Electric Polarized Wave Supported by a Si3N4/Ag Heterostructure

Hybridization of the A- and B-Exciton in a WS₂ Monolayer Mediated by the Transverse Electric Polarized Wave Supported by a Si₃N₄/Ag Heterostructure

Revealing defect-bound excitons in WS2 monolayer at room temperature by exploiting the transverse electric polarized wave supported by a Si3N4/Ag heterostructure

Abstract Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) monolayers are promising materials for light-emitting devices due to their excellent electric and optical properties. However, defects are inevitably introduced in the fabrication of TMDC monolayers, significantly influencing their emission properties. Although photoluminescence (PL) is considered as an effective tool for investigating the defects in TMDC monolayers. However, the PL from the defect-bound excitons is revealed only at low temperatures. Here, we show that the PL from the defect-bound excitons in a WS2 monolayer can be effectively revealed at room temperature by exploiting the transverse electric polarized wave supported by a Si3N4/Ag heterostructure. It is revealed that the defect-bound excitons in all possible positions of the WS2 monolayer can be effectively excited by the TE wave with significantly enhanced in-plane electric field localized on the surface of the Si3N4 layer. In addition, the emission from defect-bound excitons can propagate to the collection point with small attenuation. More importantly, the exciton dynamics in the WS2 monolayer can be modified by the Si3N4/Ag heterostructure, allowing the simultaneous excitation of neutral excitons, charge excitons (trions), and defect-bound excitons in the WS2 monolayer attached on the Si3N4/Ag heterostructure. We inspect the PL spectra obtained at different positions and find that the relative intensity of defect-bound excitons depends on the collection position. We also examine the dependences of the PL intensity and bandwidth on the excitation power for the three types of excitons. It is found that they exhibit different behaviors from those observed in the optical measurements by using the traditional excitation method. Our findings suggest a new way for exciting and studying the dynamics of multi-excitons at room temperature and indicate the potential applications of the TE wave in probing the defects in TMDC monolayers.

Novel PWO/ ZnO heterostructured nanocomposites: Synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic performance

Photocatalytic degradation is becoming an increasingly attractive method for addressing environmental remediation challenges. In this work, the novel pure PWO/ZnO and doped PWO: Er/ZnO: Ag heterostructure nanocomposites with premier photocatalytic efficiency were synthesized via a simple co-precipitation method followed by a solvothermal procedure. X-ray diffraction (XRD), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), and ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) absorbance measurements techniques were employed to characterize the structural and optical properties. HRTEM images prove the possibility of intimate contact formation at the pure and doped PWO/ZnO heterostructure nanocomposite interfaces. The photocatalytic performance of the PWO/ZnO heterostructure nanocomposites in the degradation of the methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) dyes under UVA light was evaluated. The photocatalysts’ ability in the mineralization of organic pollutants was confirmed by the TOC test. BET and zeta potential analyses were used to study the dye adsorption mechanisms. Additionally, adsorption isotherms and kinetics have been investigated to describe the adsorption of MB and MO into the samples. The degradation rates of MB with PWO/ZnO and PWO: Er/ZnO: Ag heterostructure nanocomposites were 4.7 and 6.6 times higher than those of PWO and PWO: Er nanoparticles. This rate for MO degradation is 5.2 and 3.5 times higher than that of pure PWO and PWO: Er nanoparticles, respectively. This study outlines an easy method to develop innovative, highly effective heterostructure nanocomposites capable of converting UVA light into photocatalytic performance.

A Wide Bandgap Semiconducting Magnesium Hydrogel: Moisture Harvest, Iodine Sequestration, and Resistive Switching.

Water harvesting from the ubiquitous moisture is pivotal for delivering fresh water to earth's arid/semiarid regions, and sequestration of iodine from the solution is crucial for environmental safety due to its severe effect on human metabolic processes. In this context, herein, a multifunctional supramolecular metallohydrogel (Mg@TAEA) is synthesized through direct mixing of magnesium nitrate hexahydrate and the low molecular weight gelator tris(2-aminoethyl)amine. Electron microscopy reveals that Mg@TAEA is sculptured in vertically grown well-oriented micrometer-sized flakes. The porous crystalline material (52 m2/g) was found to be an efficacious host matrix for water harvesting from moisture (847 mg/g). Mg@TAEA shows effective (513 mg/g) iodine sequestration from solution and adsorption of carbon dioxide (15 mg/g). The wide bandgap semiconducting Mg@TAEA (3.6 eV) material is a potential candidate for building memory devices, and the Ion/Ioff ratio of the device based on the indium tin oxide (ITO)/Mg@TAEA/Ag heterostructure was found to be ∼62. We further extended our work by analyzing the charge transport properties of the system and found space charge limited conduction (SCLC) and trap-filled SCLC to be responsible for the nonlinear transport behavior observed in the device.

Transverse‐Electric‐Polarized Polaritons Propagating in a WS2/Si3N4/Ag Heterostructure

AbstractStrong light–matter interaction has attracted great interest due to its potential applications in photonic and plasmonic devices. So far, many studies focus on micro‐ and nanocavities with three‐dimensional confinement of light. Here, we investigate the coupling between the surface waves supported by a dielectric‐metal heterostructure and the excitons in a two‐dimensional material. It is revealed that the transverse‐electric (TE) polarized waves excited in the dielectric‐metal heterostructure possess significantly enhanced in‐plane electric field on the surface of the dielectric layer. This unique property makes it possible to realize strong photon–exciton coupling with the excitons in a two‐dimensional material. By using a tungsten disulfide (WS2)/silicon nitride (Si3N4)/silver (Ag) heterostructure, we demonstrate the strong coupling of the TE polarized waves with the two excitons (both A and B excitons) in the WS2 monolayer, creating TE polarized polaritons propagating in the heterostructure. The strong photon–exciton coupling is revealed in the angle‐resolved reflection or scattering spectra with a Rabi splitting larger than the average damping rate of the TE polarized wave and the exciton. Our findings open new horizons for manipulating light–matter interaction in two‐dimensional nanostructures and indicate the potential applications of such propagating polaritons in photonic and plasmonic devices.

Hydrothermal and photoreduction synthesis of nanostructured α-Fe2O3/Ag urchins for sensitive SERS detection of environmental samples

Semiconductor/noble-metal heterostructures as surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates have remarkable recognition due to their synergistic contribution and abundant hotspot generation. Herein, urchin-like α-Fe2O3 and α-Fe2O3/Ag heterostructures were synthesized by the hydrothermal and photoreduction methods for the SERS application. The effective photoreduction strategies avail the dense production of noble metal (Ag) on semiconductor (α-Fe2O3). The synthesized α-Fe2O3/Ag heterostructure has numerous close-neighbouring spines with nanoscale gaps, which enable the affluent formation of hotspots and the adsorption of rich analyte molecules on the α-Fe2O3/Ag heterostructure. The silver photoreduction time is optimized for utmost hotspot generation such that the Raman signal enhancement is provoked to its highest extent. The prepared α-Fe2O3/Ag heterostructure is successfully applied for the efficacious analysis of azo dyes, sunset yellow (SY) and tartrazine (TZ). The performance analysis of α-Fe2O3/Ag heterostructure presents ultra-low limit of detection of 1.23 × 10-14 M for SY and 1.10 × 10-14 M for TZ. The enhancement factors are as high as 2.79 × 1012 for SY and 3.33 × 1012 for TZ. The uniformity and reproducibility of the proposed SERS substrate show the relative standard deviation less than 10 %. Furthermore, the real-sample analysis of the α-Fe2O3/Ag based SERS substrate is performed on the SY and TZ spiked orange juice and shows satisfactory recovery values. The preceding analytical results confirm that the α-Fe2O3/Ag based SERS substrate is feasible to be applied for practical sample analysis.

Synergistic Cr2 O3 @Ag Heterostructure Enhanced Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction to CO.

The electrocatalytic CO2 RR to produce value-added chemicals and fuels has been recognized as a promising means to reduce the reliance on fossil resources; it is, however, hindered due to the lack of high-performance electrocatalysts. The effectiveness of sculpturing metal/metal oxides (MMO) heterostructures to enhance electrocatalytic performance toward CO2 RR has been well documented, nonetheless, the precise synergistic mechanism of MMO remains elusive. Herein, an in operando electrochemically synthesized Cr2 O3 -Ag heterostructure electrocatalyst (Cr2 O3 @Ag) is reported for efficient electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to CO. The obtained Cr2 O3 @Ag can readily achieve a superb FECO of 99.6% at -0.8V (vs RHE) with a high JCO of 19.0mA cm-2 . These studies also confirm that the operando synthesized Cr2 O3 @Ag possesses high operational stability. Notably, operando Raman spectroscopy studies reveal that the markedly enhanced performance is attributable to the synergistic Cr2 O3 -Ag heterostructure induced stabilization of CO2 •- /*COOH intermediates. DFT calculations unveil that the metallic-Ag-catalyzed CO2 reduction to CO requires a 1.45eV energy input to proceed, which is 0.93eV higher than that of the MMO-structured Cr2 O3 @Ag. The exemplified approaches in this work would be adoptable for design and development of high-performance electrocatalysts for other important reactions.

Printed Chalcogenide/Metal Heterostructured Photodetectors for Flexible Near‐Infrared Sensing

AbstractNear‐infrared (NIR) photodetectors can be fabricated for various applications, such as imaging, military tracking, and medical diagnosis. However, achieving miniaturization and high responsivity for NIR photodetector arrays is still a challenge. In this study, a high‐density NIR photodetector array with a micro/nano chalcogenide and silver nanoparticle heterostructure is achieved using a low‐cost printing strategy. The Ag/Ge2Sb2Te5(GST)/Ag heterostructure is fabricated using a template‐assisted sequential printing strategy. At an absorption wavelength of λ = 980 nm, the NIR photodetector has a high light responsivity of 6.7 × 104 A W−1 owing to the high crystallinity of the GST microwire and refined GST/Ag heterointerface during the printing process. In addition, the sensing pixel interval can be reduced to 25 µm, corresponding to the highest resolution of NIR photodetectors achieved thus far (resolution: 1.0 × 103 dpi). In addition, the NIR photodetector printed on soft substrates exhibits flexibility. Thus, a simple and effective strategy for the fabrication of NIR photodetectors is demonstrated, and precise flexible infrared sensing is achieved.

A photo-responsive p-Si/TiO2/Ag heterostructure with charge transfer for recyclable surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrates

A Si/TiO2/Ag heterostructure is prepared as a recyclable SERS substrate with EF of 1.23 × 1012 and excellent repeatability, which can boost performance effectively by the synergistic contribution of the EM and CT enhancement effects.

Synergy effect of Ag plasmonic resonance and heterostructure construction enhanced visible-light photoelectrochemical sensing for quercetin

A novel heterojunction, on the basis of Ag doped zinc oxide nanorods (Ag–ZnO NRs) coupled with nickel cobalt layered double hydroxides (NiCo-LDHs), has been designed and prepared via a hydrothermal method followed by electrodeposition technique on F-doped SnO2 conducting glass (FTO) substrates. The morphology, compositions, optical and photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy and PEC technique. The prepared NiCo-LDHs/Ag-ZnO NRs/FTO electrode exhibited a significantly enhanced PEC activity owing to the synergy effect of the surface plasmonic resonance of Ag nanoparticles and the heterostructure construction. The as-prepared electrode showed enhanced PEC quercetin (Qu) sensing performance under visible light irradiation. A broad linear range for Qu was obtained in the range of 1.0 × 10−10~5.0 × 10−6 mol/L and the detection limit was lowered to 0.075 nmol/L. Additionally, the PEC sensing platform for Qu exhibited advanced performances with high selectivity, good reproducibility and stability. The present work provides a new approach for the design of a PEC sensor for the detection of Qu in the practical applications.

Solid-State Synthesized BiFeO3 Perovskite-Based Fast-Response White-Light Photodetector

This letter reports an indium doped tin oxide (ITO)/ZnO nanoparticles (NPs)/ BiFeO3 ferroelectric perovskite /poly (3, 4-ethylene dioxythiophene): polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT: PSS)/Ag heterostructure based white-light photodetector. ZnO nanoparticles are synthesized using the sol-gel process, whereas solid-state route method is used for synthesizing BiFeO3. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) of ZnO nanoparticles and BiFeO3 thin film confirms the formation of the wurtzite hexagonal structure of ZnO NPs and the rhombohedral structure of BiFeO3 perovskite. The high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM) of the films confirm the highly dense and uniform growth of ZnO nanoparticles and BiFeO3. The measured responsivity characteristics over 400-750 nm show the maximum responsivity of ~34 mA/W over the wavelength of 450 to 650 nm at an applied bias voltage of 2 V. The photodetector exhibits a reasonably fast light response with the rise time of 7.21 s and fall time of 6.23 s.

Ag‐doped PbS thin films by nebulizer spray pyrolysis for solar cells

Silver (Ag)-doped PbS (PbS:Ag) thin films of 616 to 745 nm in thickness were prepared on glass substrates via cost-effective nebulizer spray method by adding different Ag levels from 2% to 8% at 200°C. For solar cell applications, the effect of Ag doping concentration on structural, morphological, optical, photoluminescence, and electrical chattels of PbS thin film has been studied. X-ray diffraction pattern confirmed the polycrystalline behavior of the prepared PbS:Ag films with cubic crystalline nature. The crystalline size and texture coefficient were increased by increasing Ag doping concentration. From the morphological studies by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM), the grain size of the films and surface roughness values were increased for the increase in Ag doping concentration. EDS spectra confirmed the existence of Ag, Pb, and S elements in the select 6% Ag-doped PbS film. Peaks related to silver oxide started to emerge at 6% of Ag doping level. The optical direct band gap value was reduced from 1.51 to 1.17 eV for Ag doping from 2% to 6% and thereby slightly increased as 1.79 eV for 8% Ag doping level. For all PbS:Ag films, the photoluminescence spectrum emitted a strong near band edge (NBE) emission at approximately 580 nm, meaning better optical quality. Hall effect measurements evidenced that Ag doping provides enhancement on the characteristics of mobility, carrier concentration, and resistivity with p-type conducting nature. The observed high carrier concentration and low resistivity values were 4.32 × 1014 cm−3 and 80 Ωcm, for 6% Ag-doped PbS film. The FTO/CdS/PbS:Ag heterostructure solar cell was formed from 6% Ag-doped film.

Decorating Ag/AgCl on UiO-66-NH2: Synergy between Ag plasmons and heterostructure for the realization of efficient visible light photocatalysis

UiO-66-NH2, as typical visible light responsive Zr-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), has attracted great interest in recent years. However, rapid combination of the photoinduced carriers limits its further application. Here, we designed a facile precipitation-photoreduction method to post-synthetically decorate Ag/AgCl on the surface of UiO-66-NH2 and form a heterostructure. Metallic Ag can not only transmit electrons between UiO-66-NH2 and AgCl but also absorb visible light, because of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect. The rhodamine B photodegradation rate of UiO-66-NH2/Ag/AgCl (16.2 wt.% Ag) is about 10 and 4 times those of UiO-66-NH2 and Ag/AgCl, respectively. The SPR effect of Ag NPs and the formation of a heterostructure synergistically increase the absorbability of visible light, accelerate the separation of photoinduced charges, and promote the formation of superoxide radicals. We expect that our work could provide a new viewpoint for constructing efficient MOF-based photocatalytic systems.

Electrically Tunable Exciton-Plasmon Coupling in a WSe2 Monolayer Embedded in a Plasmonic Crystal Cavity.

We realize a new electroplasmonic switch based upon electrically tunable exciton-plasmon interactions. The device consists of a hexagonal boron nitride (hBN)-encapsulated tungsten diselenide (WSe2) monolayer on top of a single-crystalline silver substrate. The ultrasmooth silver substrate serves a dual role as the medium to support surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) and the bottom gate electrode to tune the WSe2 exciton energy and brightness through electrostatic doping. To enhance the exciton-plasmon coupling, we implement a plasmonic crystal cavity on top of the hBN/WSe2/hBN/Ag heterostructure with a quality factor reaching 550. The tight confinement of the SPPs in the plasmonic cavity enables strong coupling between excitons and SPPs when the WSe2 exciton absorption is resonant with the cavity mode, leading to a vacuum Rabi splitting of up to 18 meV. This strong coupling can also be switched off with the application of a modest gate voltage that increases the doping density in the monolayer. This demonstration paves the way for new plasmonic modulators and a general device architecture to enhance light-matter interactions between SPPs and various embedded emitters.

Highly sensitive biosensor with graphene-MoS2 heterostructure based on photonic spin Hall effect

Abstract We propose a new optical biosensor based on photonic spin Hall effect (PSHE) for detection of DNA hybridization. This device consists of BK7 prism, Ag, SiO2, Au and graphene-MoS2 heterostructure which produces waveguide coupled surface plasmon resonance (WCSPR) effect to enormously enhance PSHE. The adsorption of graphene-MoS2 heterostructure to biomolecules changes the refractive index of the sensing medium, thereby affecting spin-dependent splitting in PSHE. The 2 × 2 transfer matrix method is applied to calculate the generalized Fresnel reflection and we deduce the reflected light shifts in PSHE. We study the correlation between spin-dependent displacements and the refractive index variations of sensed solution to obtain the highest sensitivity in the proposed sensor. However, the PSHE exists in the proposed biosensor is extremely weak, so a signal enhancement technology called weak measurement is adopted to amplify the PSHE shift. Thus, the proposed biosensor can successfully detect the hybridization of probe DNA with target DNA. These results may provide practical applications for PSHE in biological monitoring, medical diagnosis, and food safety.

Surface functionalization of electrospun PAN nanofibers with ZnO–Ag heterostructure nanoparticles: synthesis and antibacterial study

In this work, we have prepared polyacrylonitrile (PAN) polymer nanofibers by electrospinning method. The surface of the electrospun PAN nanofibers membrane has been functionalized with ZnO–Ag heterostructure nanoparticles by using three different chemical pathways such as reflux, blending, hydrothermal methods and accordingly the prepared composite nanofibers membranes were named as PAN/ZnO–Ag (R), PAN/ZnO–Ag (B) and PAN/ZnO–Ag (H) respectively. The obtained heterostructure nanoparticles functionalized PAN nanofibers membranes were characterized using ATR-FTIR, XRD, FESEM and TEM analytical techniques. From the FESEM and TEM images it was clearly observed that 20–30 nm size spherical nanoparticles have been decorated uniformly on the surface of PAN nanofibers. XRD study confirmed the formation of ZnO–Ag mixed/hybrid nanoparticles on PAN nanofibers surface. The ZnO–Ag heterostructure nanoparticles functionalized PAN nanofibers membranes were used for antibacterial application. It was observed from inhibition zone study that the ZnO–Ag heterostructure nanoparticles functionalized PAN nanofibers membrane shows excellent antibacterial properties towards both gram-negative Escherichia coli and gram-positive Micrococcus luteus bacteria than their single component counterparts. Thus this study demonstrated the simple and cost-effective approach to develop antibacterial functional membrane that has many potential applications in water and air filtration, protective mask, textile and packaging industries.

Photovoltaic effect in cuprate superconductor (Bi, Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ under magnetic field

Photovoltaic effects of Bi-2223/Ag and Bi-2212/Ag heterostructures under magnetic fields up to ± 9 T induced by continuous purple-laser irradiation have been investigated in a wide temperature range between 10 K and 350 K. There is a broad peak in the temperature dependence of Voc for the Bi-2223/Ag system near 45 K which can be ascribed to the minority phase of Bi-2212 within the Bi-2223 sample. The anomalous magnetic field dependence of Voc below 60 K suggests that the low temperature magnetic behavior of Voc for the Bi-2223/Ag system is greatly affected by the minority phase Bi-2212. No polarity reversal of Voc was observed at the superconducting transition of Bi-2212/Ag heterostructure, consisting with that for SmO0.7F0.3FeAs/Ag system but opposite to that of Bi-2223/Ag and YBCO/Ag systems. This observation indicates that the majority charge carriers in this heavily over-doped Bi-2212 are electrons other than holes. Our results show that the photo-induced voltage has a photovoltaic nature closely related to the built-in electric field of the intrinsic metal/superconductor interface. The magnitude and the direction of the built-in electric field can be changed by applying an external magnetic field and/or varying the laser intensity. Our data provide a new dimension of information for depicting a more comprehensive picture of metal/HTSC heterostructure system and may lead to new applications of high temperature superconductor in the field of photo-electronic and magnetic sensing devices.

Photovoltaic properties of F:SnO2/CdS/CuO/Ag heterojunction solar cell

Glass/F:SnO2/CdS/CuO/Ag hetero structure has been fabricated using direct current (d.c) magnetron sputtering and thermal evaporation technique. Cupric oxide (CuO) has been synthesized by direct current magnetron sputtering technique and Cadmium sulphide (CdS) has been deposited by thermal evaporation method. The micro-structural and optical studies were carried out by field emission scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, atomic force microscope and UV–vis spectroscopy. The above heterojunction structure shows the efficiency ∼2.1%. Open-circuit voltage of the cells was ∼0.462 V. The efficiency values obtained here are the highest compared to those reported so far for this glass/F:SnO2/CdS/CuO/Ag structure. Sputtering acted as a viable and inexpensive technique for obtaining this glass/F:SnO2/CdS/CuO/Ag cell structure for PV application.

Hetero plasmonic 2D and 3D ZnO/Ag nanostructures: electrical and photocatalytic applications

ZnO thin films (TFs) and nanorods (NRs) array have been synthesized by RF magnetron sputtering and low temperature wet chemical method, respectively. It is followed by deposition of Ag nanosheet using DC magnetron sputtering, which forms 2D and 3D ZnO/Ag heterointerfaces. This work devotes the significant of thickness, annealing and shape of ZnO–Ag heterojunction on its characteristics. A successful fabrication of ZnO–Ag heterostructure was presented to improve (modify) the conductivity and optical absorption. UV–Vis near IR absorption spectroscopy revealed higher absorption efficiency in the visible region for Ag–ZnO thin film rather than in pure ZnO. The optical response of ZnO–Ag composite based on Gans theory indicates surface plasmon resonance behavior as well in nonspheriod (oblate) Ag nanoislands. The transport behavior of FTO/Ag/ZnO NRs/Cu heterojunction could be useful in variable resistor (varistor). Current voltage characteristic of Ag/ZnO NRs/FTO shows good Schottky behavior. The predicted Schottky barrier height of 1 V was obtained which is not far from the theoretical Schottky–Mott value of 0.8 V. Photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) was used to evaluate the activity of ZnO NRs/Ag heterostructure. ZnO NRs/Ag heterostructure depicts the best photocatalytic activity due to electronic and plasmonic coupling.