Silver nanoparticles doped on titanium oxide (TiO(2)) were produced by laser-liquid interaction of silver nitrate (AgNO(3)) in isopropanol. Characteristics of Ag/TiO(2) (Ag doped TiO(2)) nanoparticles produced by the methods presented in this article were investigated by XRD, TEM, SEM, EDX, and UV-Vis. From the UV-Vis measurements, the absorption of visible light of the Ag/TiO(2) photocatalysts was improved (additional absorption at longer wavelength in visible light region) obviously. The photocatalytic efficiency of Ag/TiO(2) was tested by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution. A maximum of 82.3% MB degradation is achieved by 2.0 wt% Ag/TiO(2) photocatalyst under 2 h illumination with a halogen lamp.
Keywords: laser; methylene blue; photocatalysis; silver nanoparticles; titanium oxide.