A facile microwave assisted fabrication of nano Ag2ZrO3: An efficient visible light harvesting photocatalyst

Spherical, mesoporous nano silver zirconate with enhanced visible light harvesting ability was successfully synthesized by an effective microwave-assisted method. The authentication of synthesized material was carried by XRD, FE-SEM, TEM, BET, IR, and Raman spectroscopy. To explore the wide photocatalytic potential of efficiently synthesized nano silver zirconate, the photo-oxidation of aqueous methylene blue solution was studied spectrophotometrically. The nano silver zirconate synthesized by microwave irradiation shows superior photocatalytic efficiency as compared to our previously reported silver zirconate synthesized by the solid-state method, Degussa P25, and other silver-based photocatalyst. This as synthesized nano silver zirconate exhibits 99% photo-degradation of 10(-5) M aqueous methylene blue solution in 120 min of visible light irradiation. (c) 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 38:e13071, 2019