Fabrication of In2O3/ZnO@Ag nanowire ternary composites with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity

Herein, an In2O3/ZnO@Ag ternary photocatalyst was synthesized by a facile co-precipitation process. The results indicated that Ag nanowires were encapsulated by In2O3/ZnO compounds, and the obtained In2O3/ZnO@Ag photocatalyst showed strong absorption in the visible light region. The photoluminescence (PL) emission intensity gradually decreased for In2O3/ZnO@Ag as compared to that for the In2O3/ZnO composites and pure ZnO. The as-prepared In2O3/ZnO@Ag composites exhibited excellent visible light photocatalytic activities for degradation of organic contaminants (methyl orange and 4-nitrophenol). The enhancement of photocatalytic activity was ascribed to the extended visible light absorption region by Ag nanowires and the formation of close hetero-structure by the matched band structures of In2O3 and ZnO. Finally, a possible photocatalytic mechanism was proposed based on the matched energy band structure and active species trapping experiments.