Synergistic Adsorption and Photocatalytic Activity under Visible Irradiation Using Ag-ZnO/GO Nanoparticles Derived at Low Temperature

Abstract

Ag-ZnO/graphene oxide (AG-ZnO/GO) nanocomposite was synthesized via facile aqueous solution reactions at low temperature in order to improve the photocatalytic activity for cationic dye removal under visible light irradiation. Analytical techniques were carried out in order to determine the abilities including structure, state of elements, morphology, and surface area of synthesized materials. Ag-ZnO/GO nanocomposite presented an extremely high removal rate of methylene blue (MB) not only under UV light (over 99% removal) but also under visible light (85% removal) during the same irradiation time. In this study, initial process parameters of catalyst dosage, MB concentration, and pH of the solution were also examined for MB removal efficiency effects. The proposed mechanisms for the increased removal of MB by Ag-ZnO/GO nanocomposite under visible irradiation include increased photocatalytic degradation, mainly due to increased charge transfer capacity by lowering band gap energy; minimized recombination of the excited electron-hole pairs of ZnO with the addition of Ag into the ZnO crystal lattice; and an increased adsorption capacity with the addition of GO with high surface area and semiconductor function with zero band gap energy.