Photocatalytic properties of Ag@Ag-doped ZnO core-shell nanocomposite

In this study, pristine ZnO nanoparticles (NPs), Ag@ZnO core-shell (CS) nanocomposites and Ag@ Ag-doped ZnO CS nanocomposites were synthesized using Pechini sol-gel method. The synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, Photoluminescence (PL) test, Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Photocatalytic activity of the samples was tested by studying the oxidation of methylene blue (MB) solution. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of Ag@ Ag-doped ZnO CS nanocomposites was attributed to the efficient suppression of electron-hole recombination in ZnO shell due to the strong electron scavenging action of Ag NPs.