Nanocasted Synthesis of Ag/WO3 Nanocomposite with Enhanced Sensing and Photocatalysis Applications

Ordered mesoporous Ag doped WO3 nanocomposites with ordered pore structure were synthesized using mesoporous silica, KIT-6 as hard template. The sensor was tested for detection of toluene, an important indoor organic pollutant. The sensing result illustrates that 2 wt% Ag-doped WO3 shows 2.8 times better response (R = 39.2@200 degrees C) to 50 ppm toluene gas than pure WO3 (R = 14@ 210 degrees C) along with a fast response time (11 s), rapid recovery time (8 s). The results reported in this study indicated that the gas sensors based on mesoporous Ag/WO3 can be used for designing promising sensitive materials for toluene detection. The visible light driven photocatalytic performance of the as-prepared Ag doped WO3 photocatalyst was evaluated using the degradation of Congo red (CR) as model dye. Dye adsorption experiments demonstrated the excellent photocatalytic ability of Ag doped WO3 towards degradation of CR where 90% of the dye was degraded in 30 min of irradiation time.