Insight into the sunlight-driven photocatalytic activity of ZnO and ZnO/Ag hybrid nanostructures
Developing efficient and sustainable photocatalysts for environmental remediation remains a critical challenge. This study presents a straightforward sol-gel synthesis method for ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) and ZnO/Ag hybrid NPs aiming to investigate sunlight-driven photocatalytic activity and long-term...
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Elsevier
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Next Materials |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949822825002515 |
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| author | Samriti Astha Pujara Sahil Thakur Tapas Palai Rajeev Gupta H.C. Swart Andrej Kuznetsov Jai Prakash |
| author_facet | Samriti Astha Pujara Sahil Thakur Tapas Palai Rajeev Gupta H.C. Swart Andrej Kuznetsov Jai Prakash |
| author_sort | Samriti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Developing efficient and sustainable photocatalysts for environmental remediation remains a critical challenge. This study presents a straightforward sol-gel synthesis method for ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) and ZnO/Ag hybrid NPs aiming to investigate sunlight-driven photocatalytic activity and long-term stability towards removal of dye pollutants in wastewater. The ZnO/Ag hybrid NPs containing embedded Ag nanocrystals (NCs) showed excellent visible light absorption due to surface plasmon resonance properties of Ag NCs. The photocatalytic activity was assessed using methylene blue (MB) dye under both UV and direct sunlight. Interestingly, pure ZnO NPs demonstrated superior photocatalytic efficiency achieving over 98 % degradation of MB within 45 min, likely due to their higher surface area and porosity as compared to that of ZnO/Ag plasmonic hybrid NPs. These results highlight that while Ag NCs embedding in ZnO NPs enhances the optical properties of ZnO, however, it does not necessarily improve the photocatalytic efficiency which has been studied in detail and a mechanism has been proposed. In addition, these photocatalyst were investigated for reproducibility and recyclability as well as for long term stability. Such plasmonic nanohybrids demonstrate great potential for versatile and long-term applications as highly recyclable SERS substrates as well as durable photocatalysts in environmental applications. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9f852426d307443c8d094f17b43fb784 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2949-8228 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Next Materials |
| spelling | doaj-art-9f852426d307443c8d094f17b43fb7842025-08-20T03:08:17ZengElsevierNext Materials2949-82282025-07-01810073310.1016/j.nxmate.2025.100733Insight into the sunlight-driven photocatalytic activity of ZnO and ZnO/Ag hybrid nanostructures Samriti0Astha Pujara1Sahil Thakur2Tapas Palai3Rajeev Gupta4H.C. Swart5Andrej Kuznetsov6Jai Prakash7Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology Hamirpur, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh 177005, India; Department of Physics and Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, Norway; Corresponding author at: Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology Hamirpur, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh 177005, India.Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology Hamirpur, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh 177005, IndiaDepartment of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology Hamirpur, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh 177005, IndiaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Hamirpur, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh 177005, IndiaDepartment of Physics, School of Engineering Studies, University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248007, IndiaDepartment of Physics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, Republic of South AfricaDepartment of Physics and Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, NorwayDepartment of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology Hamirpur, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh 177005, India; Corresponding author.Developing efficient and sustainable photocatalysts for environmental remediation remains a critical challenge. This study presents a straightforward sol-gel synthesis method for ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) and ZnO/Ag hybrid NPs aiming to investigate sunlight-driven photocatalytic activity and long-term stability towards removal of dye pollutants in wastewater. The ZnO/Ag hybrid NPs containing embedded Ag nanocrystals (NCs) showed excellent visible light absorption due to surface plasmon resonance properties of Ag NCs. The photocatalytic activity was assessed using methylene blue (MB) dye under both UV and direct sunlight. Interestingly, pure ZnO NPs demonstrated superior photocatalytic efficiency achieving over 98 % degradation of MB within 45 min, likely due to their higher surface area and porosity as compared to that of ZnO/Ag plasmonic hybrid NPs. These results highlight that while Ag NCs embedding in ZnO NPs enhances the optical properties of ZnO, however, it does not necessarily improve the photocatalytic efficiency which has been studied in detail and a mechanism has been proposed. In addition, these photocatalyst were investigated for reproducibility and recyclability as well as for long term stability. Such plasmonic nanohybrids demonstrate great potential for versatile and long-term applications as highly recyclable SERS substrates as well as durable photocatalysts in environmental applications.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949822825002515Plasmonic photocatalystZnO/Ag hybrid NPsSunlight driven photocatalystLong term applicationsSERS |
| spellingShingle | Samriti Astha Pujara Sahil Thakur Tapas Palai Rajeev Gupta H.C. Swart Andrej Kuznetsov Jai Prakash Insight into the sunlight-driven photocatalytic activity of ZnO and ZnO/Ag hybrid nanostructures Next Materials Plasmonic photocatalyst ZnO/Ag hybrid NPs Sunlight driven photocatalyst Long term applications SERS |
| title | Insight into the sunlight-driven photocatalytic activity of ZnO and ZnO/Ag hybrid nanostructures |
| title_full | Insight into the sunlight-driven photocatalytic activity of ZnO and ZnO/Ag hybrid nanostructures |
| title_fullStr | Insight into the sunlight-driven photocatalytic activity of ZnO and ZnO/Ag hybrid nanostructures |
| title_full_unstemmed | Insight into the sunlight-driven photocatalytic activity of ZnO and ZnO/Ag hybrid nanostructures |
| title_short | Insight into the sunlight-driven photocatalytic activity of ZnO and ZnO/Ag hybrid nanostructures |
| title_sort | insight into the sunlight driven photocatalytic activity of zno and zno ag hybrid nanostructures |
| topic | Plasmonic photocatalyst ZnO/Ag hybrid NPs Sunlight driven photocatalyst Long term applications SERS |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949822825002515 |
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