Influence of Ag on photocatalytic performance of Ag/ZnO nanosheet photocatalysts

Ag/ZnO nanosheet composites were prepared by zinc nitrate, sodium hydroxide and silver nitrate via a simple hydrothermal method. The crystal structure, morphology, optical property and photocatalytic performance were studied by means of XRD, SEM, HRTEM, XPS, and PL methods. It is found that both the pure ZnO and composite Ag/ZnO samples have the same morphology of nanosheet. The interaction of spherical Ag particles with ZnO matrix in the Ag/ZnO sample leads to an increase in photocatalytic efficiency for the possible increase of concentration of surface hydroxyl and the photo-induced electrons and holes. The addition of Ag can reduce the recombination rate of photo-generated carriers and the sample with addition of 3 at% Ag to ZnO exhibits the best photocatalytic activity with the degradation rate up to 95% within 15 min.