A comparative study of photocatalytic activity of Na+-Ag+ ion-exchanged glass-ceramics with metallic Ag, semiconductor AgBr, and hybrid Ag-AgBr nanoparticles

Photocatalytic glass-ceramics doped with metallic Ag, semiconductor AgBr, and hybrid metal-semiconductor Ag-AgBr nanostructures were synthesized via low-temperature Na+-Ag(+ )ion exchange. The spectral features of the nanostructures in the silicate glass matrix as well as their photocatalytic performance were studied in detail. Glass-ceramics containing hybrid metal-semiconductor nanostructures were shown to possess one order of magnitude higher photocatalytic activity compared to their counterparts with metallic and semiconductor nanostructures. Hybrid metal-semiconductor nanostructures allow enhancement of the net density of photogenerated hot electrons.

Automated summary

Photocatalytic glass-ceramics with metallic Ag, semiconductor AgBr, and hybrid metal-semiconductor Ag-AgBr nanostructures were synthesized using low-temperature Na+-Ag(+ )ion exchange. The spectral features and photocatalytic performance of the nanostructures in the silicate glass matrix were investigated. Glass-ceramics with hybrid metal-semiconductor nanostructures exhibited one order of magnitude higher photocatalytic activity compared to those with metallic and semiconductor nanostructures. The hybrid metal-semiconductor nanostructures allow for an enhancement of the net density of photogenerated hot electrons.