Optimizing the structural and photocatalytic performance of Ag-decorated ZnO/Zn(OH)2 nanoparticles for RhB degradation

Abstract

In this study, as-prepared and Ag-decorated ZnO/Zn(OH)(2) composite nanoparticles (NPs) were obtained using the sol-gel technique. First, the effect of aging on the structural, optical, and morphological features was examined. Ag NPs can interact with the electronic structure of ZnO/Zn(OH)(2) NPs, resulting in changes in their energy levels. It was found that the composite NPs obtained after 6 h solution aging increased in full width at half maximum and good crystallinity of the structures from the X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. The Raman spectrum supports the experimental data obtained from XRD and Fourier transform infrared, a material containing a mixture of ZnO and Zn(OH)(2). From the morphological study, Ag NPs were successfully decorated on the ZnO/Zn(OH)(2) surface, and composite NPs did not change the morphological appearance of the structure. Second, the photocatalytic performance of the samples was investigated. In the experimental setting, ultra-violet A light was employed as the irradiation source, whereas rhodamine B (RhB) was used as the dyestuff. The photo-degradation of the RhB dyestuff on composite NPs was observed to be 98.5% and 92.5% for 6 and 2 h aged samples, respectively. On Ag NPs, the catalytic performance of the sample was increased up to 95% after 180 min.