Solvent polarity resulted in different structures and photocatalytic abilities of Ag/ZnO composites

Different silver/zinc oxide (Ag/ZnO) heterostructures were successfully fabricated via a simply solvothermal method by changing the solvents, such as water and methanol. Based on the polarity of the solvent used, the morphology of the ZnO and Ag/ZnO could be controlled to discuss the influence of the structure and activity. Our results of the photocatalytic degradation of dyes under UV and visible light suggested that the activities of the Ag/ZnO was close to their structures and it was revealed that the Ag/ZnO with one dimension structure demonstrated much higher activity than that with a flower shape, which was possibly ascribed to the high aspect ratio, surface defects of the ZnO and synergistic effect of metallic Ag. The present work provided an example for the design of ZnO based functional materials with high performances for water pollutant treatment. [GRAPHICS] .