Controllable assembly of well-defined monodisperse Au nanoparticles on hierarchical ZnO microspheres for enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic and antibacterial activity

A high-efficiency visible-light-driven photocatalyst composed of homogeneously distributed Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) well-defined on hierarchical ZnO microspheres (ZMS) via a controllable layer-by-layer self-assembly technique is demonstrated. The gradual growth of the characteristic absorption bands of Au loaded on ZnO in the visible light region with an increasing number of assemblies indicates the enhancement of the light harvesting ability of the ZMS/Au composites as well as the reproducibility and controllability of the entire assembly process. Results on the photoelectrochemical performance characterized by EIS and transient photocurrent response spectra indicate that the ZMS/Au composites possess increased photoinduced charge separation and transfer efficiency compared to the pure ZMS film. As a result, the hybrid composites exhibited enhanced decomposition activity for methylene blue and salicylic acid as well as antibacterial activity in killing S. aureus and E. coli under visible light irradiation. It can be noted that well-distributed Au components even at a rather low Au/ZnO weight ratio of similar to 1.2% also exhibited extraordinary photocatalysis. Such a facile and controllable self-assembly approach may be viable for preparing high-performance visible-light-driven ZMS/Au photocatalysts in a simple and controllable way, and consequently, the technology may extend to other plasmon-enhanced heterostructures made of nanostructured semiconductors and noble metals for great potential application in environmental protection.