Ag nanowire/ZnO nanobush hybrid structures for improved photocatalytic activity

Qui Thanh Hoai Ta; Sungho Park; Jin-Seo Noh

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2017.06.041

Ag nanowire/ZnO nanobush hybrid structures for improved photocatalytic activity

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2017 Nov 1:505:437-444. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2017.06.041. Epub 2017 Jun 13.

Authors

Qui Thanh Hoai Ta¹, Sungho Park², Jin-Seo Noh³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nano-Physics, Gachon University, 1342 Seongnamdaero, Sujeong-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do 461-701, South Korea.
² Department of Chemistry, Daejin University, Sundan-dong, Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do 487-711, South Korea. Electronic address: shopark@daejin.ac.kr.
³ Department of Nano-Physics, Gachon University, 1342 Seongnamdaero, Sujeong-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do 461-701, South Korea. Electronic address: jinseonoh@gachon.ac.kr.

PMID: 28628872
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2017.06.041

Abstract

Reverse-engineered Ag nanowire/ZnO nanobush hybrid structures have been synthesized for the first time by a combination of polyol method and low-temperature solution method. Through the elaborate control of Ag-to-ZnO weight ratio, vertically aligned ZnO nanobushes grew on the surface of well-faceted Ag nanowires. The Ag/ZnO hybrid nanostructures showed the crystal features of both Ag nanowires and wurtzite ZnO nanostructures. They exhibited strong UV absorption, whereas their photoluminescence spectra were much weaker than pure ZnO nanostructures due to the inhibited carrier recombination. The photocatalytic activity of Ag/ZnO hybrid nanostructures was greatly improved compared to pure ZnO nanostructures. Furthermore, they showed good cyclic performance and easy recovery from the test solution, demonstrating the possibility of their practical use.

Keywords: Ag nanowires; Ag/ZnO hybrid nanostructures; Methylene blue; Photocatalytic activity; ZnO nanobushes.