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Construction of Ag nanosphere-decorated ZnO composite films and Ag’s crucial role in boosting photocatalytic performance

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Abstract

ZnO films immobilized on SUS316L wire mesh are prepared by a conventional low-temperature hydrothermal method. To improve their photocatalytic activity, we decorate the films with Ag nanospheres using the impregnating photoreduction treatment. The prepared films are characterized using a series of advanced analytical methods. The SEM and EDS results show that continuous films consisting of ZnO nanorods shaped as six-prism cones are formed in the hydrothermal process. Ag0 nanospheres with the dimension from a few to several hundred nanometers decorate the ZnO nanorods. Compared to the individual ZnO film, Ag–ZnO heterojunction improves the absorption of UV and visible light, decreases the bandgap value, and shifts the band position toward more positive potentials. It also inhibits the recombination of photo-inspired electrons and holes, thereby improving the photodegradation ability. The photocatalytic performance of Ag–ZnO composite films increases at most 5.6-fold compared to the bare ZnO film. Active holes (h+), superoxide (\(\bullet {\text{O}}_{2}^{ - }\)), and hydroxyl (\(\bullet {\text{OH}}\)) species play significant roles in organic dye RhB photodegradation under simulated sunlight irradiation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Modern Analysis Technology Research Center, Tianjin University of Science & Technology for their professional analysis.

Funding

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51404170) and Tianjin Enterprise Science & Technology Commissioner Project (No.21YDTPJC00450) financially supported this work. All the authors have no completing interests to declare.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tianjin Key Lab of Integrated Design and On-Line Monitoring for Light Industry & Food Machinery and Equipment, Tianjin, 300222, People’s Republic of China

    Fei Li, Qian Zhao, Rong Jia & Liang Hao

  2. College of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, No. 1038, Dagu Nanlu, Hexi District, Tianjin, 300222, People’s Republic of China

    Fei Li, Qian Zhao, Rong Jia & Liang Hao

  3. Tianjin International Joint Research and Development Center of Low-Carbon Green Process Equipment, Tianjin, 300222, People’s Republic of China

    Fei Li, Qian Zhao, Rong Jia & Liang Hao

  4. College of Materials Science and Hydrogen Energy Engineering, Foshan University, No. 18, Jiangwanyilu, Foshan, 528000, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China

    Te Hu

  5. Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Chiba University, No. 1-33, Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba, 263-8522, Japan

    Yun Lu

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  1. Fei Li
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Contributions

FL and RJ have made substantial contributions to the execution of experiment, including films’ preparation, characterization, and photocatalytic activity evaluation. QZ has analyzed the experimental data, including the characterization and photocatalytic mechanism, revised the manuscript, and responded to the reviewers’ comments. TH has performed some films’ characterization and analyzed the experimental data. YL has performed TEM characterization, provided software validation, and revised the manuscript. LH has proposed the conception and design of the work, carried out the analysis of experimental data and draft and revised the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Qian Zhao or Liang Hao.

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Li, F., Zhao, Q., Jia, R. et al. Construction of Ag nanosphere-decorated ZnO composite films and Ag’s crucial role in boosting photocatalytic performance. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 34, 99 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-022-09541-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-022-09541-7

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