Synthesis, electrical, magnetic, optical and bactericidal properties and enhanced photocatalytic activity of Ag-decorated ZnFe2O4-dispersed ZnO nanoflakes

Ag-decorated ZnFe2O4-dispersed ZnO nanoflakes have been obtained by hydrothermal process followed by photodeposition and characterized using scanning and transmission electron microscopic, energy dispersive Xray spectroscopic, elemental mapping, powder X-ray and selected area electron diffractometric and Raman spectroscopic techniques. The synthesized nanocomposite is superparamagnetic and its charge transfer resistance is very much larger than that of pristine ZnO nanoflakes; its capacitance is too small compared to that of pristine ZnO. The band gap of the composite nanoflakes is 2.9 eV and the photoluminescence of ZnFe2O4/Ag-ZnO is similar to that of ZnO. The lifetime of free charge carriers is 7 ps. The nanocomposite is an efficient bactericide and its photocatalytic activity is larger than that of pristine ZnO. The enhanced photocatalytic activity is attributed to ZnFe2O4/ZnO and ZnO/Ag heterojunctions.