The preparation of visible light-driven ZnO/Ag2MoO4/Ag nanocomposites with effective photocatalytic and antibacterial activity

Abstract Photocatalytic technology has been attracting considerable attention due to its low cost and environmental friendly properties. In this work, a novel ZnO/Ag2MoO4/Ag (ZAA) nanocomposite was prepared by an ultrasonic-irradiation method as an efficient visible-light-driven photocatalyst. The structure and photocatalytic property of the photocatalyst were studied by XRD, SEM, FTIR, XPS, TEM, UV–vis DRS and PL Spectroscopy, respectively. The results indicated that the Ag2MoO4 nanocomposites were successfully decorated on the ZnO sheets which grabbed Ag NPs. Benefiting from local surface plasmon resonance effect of metallic silver and the formation of heterojunctions between the counterparts of ZnO and Ag2MoO4, it effectively suppresses recombination of photogenerated charge carriers, which can enhance good photocatalytic properties and antibacterial activities. An optimal photocatalysis of ZAA with molar ratio of ZnO to Ag2MoO4 at 40:1 performed the highest degradation rate for rhodamine B under visible light irradiation. In addition, over 99.999% of Gram-negative E. coli and 99.846% of Gram-positive S. aureus were reduced by ZAA-40 nanocomposites within 60 min in comparison to pure ZnO sheet. These results demonstrate that ZAA is a promising photocatalyst, making it a prospective strategy to overcome current challengers in the use of organic pollutant degradation and the photocatalytic antibacterial area.