Detonation-deposition approach to obtain Ag-ZnO photocatalyst using energetic Ag-Zn(NO 3 ) 2 (N 2 H 4 ) 3 precursor

Abstract A new energetic material system composed of Ag-Zn(NO 3 ) 2 (N 2 H 4 ) 3 composite buried in zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) particles was developed to prepare Ag-ZnO photocatalyst via “detonation deposition” method. The Ag-Zn(NO 3 ) 2 (N 2 H 4 ) 3 composite was derived from ZIF-8 and AgNO 3 with the complexation and reducing reaction with N 2 H 4 ·H 2 O, and it served as explosive source and zinc source in the detonation process. Ag nanoparticles embedded in Zn(NO 3 ) 2 (N 2 H 4 ) 3 would increase the homogeneity of the whole detonation system. Meanwhile, the ZIF-8 particles around were another zinc source, ensuring the safety and controllability of the whole detonation process. After thermal treatment, the size of Ag-ZnO composites was in the range of 30–100 nm with no similar structure to Ag-Zn(NO 3 ) 2 (N 2 H 4 ) 3 or ZIF-8. The absorption band of the Ag x -ZnO series samples in visible region was assigned to surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of Ag nanoparticles. The detonation process introduced a lot of defects in ZnO, which were confirmed by photoluminescence spectrophotometer (PL) spectra. These defects would form multiple defect-related levels in the band gap, which contributed to the excellent photocatalytic performance on methylene blue (MB) and phenol degradation with the concerted effects from Ag nanoparticles.