Investigation of mechanisms governing the photocatalytic activity of ZnO/Ag nanospheres composite

The present study focuses on the effect of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) on the photocatalytic activity of ZnO/noble metal composite. For this purpose, first ZnO nanoparticles, Ag nanospheres, and Au nanospheres were synthesized. Then composites were prepared and the improvement of their photocatalytic performance was compared with the performance of pure ZnO. Also, the physical mechanisms governing plasmonic photocatalysts were investigated. The results indicated that the mechanism of the LSPR-induced energy transfer of Ag nanospheres to ZnO nanoparticles could be the main reason for the increase of photocatalytic activity of ZnO/Ag nanospherescomposite.

Keywords:

Plasmonic photocatalyst , Ag nanospheres , ZnO nanoparticles , Au nanospheres.