Fabrication and Photocatalytic Properties of Zinc Tin Oxide Nanowires Decorated with Silver Nanoparticles
With the continuous advancement of high-tech industries, how to properly handle pollutants has become urgent. Photocatalysis is a solution that may effectively degrade pollutants into harmless molecules. In this study, we synthesized single crystalline Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</s...
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Nanomaterials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/12/7/1201 |
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| author | Jia-Chi Su Tsung-Lin Hsieh Shu-Meng Yang Shao-Chun Chao Kuo-Chang Lu |
| author_facet | Jia-Chi Su Tsung-Lin Hsieh Shu-Meng Yang Shao-Chun Chao Kuo-Chang Lu |
| author_sort | Jia-Chi Su |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | With the continuous advancement of high-tech industries, how to properly handle pollutants has become urgent. Photocatalysis is a solution that may effectively degrade pollutants into harmless molecules. In this study, we synthesized single crystalline Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub> (ZTO) nanowires through chemical vapor deposition and selective etching. The chemical bath redox method was used to modify the ZTO nanowires with Ag nanoparticles to explore the photocatalytic properties of the nanoheterostructures. The combination of the materials here is rare. Optical measurements by photoluminescence (PL) and UV–Vis show that the PL spectrum of ZTO nanowires was mainly in the visible light region and attributed to oxygen vacancies. The luminescence intensity of the nanowires was significantly reduced after modification, demonstrating that the heterojunction could effectively reduce the electron-hole pair recombination. The reduction increased with the increase in Ag decoration. The conversion from the UV–Vis absorption spectrum to the Tauc Plot shows that the band gap of the nanowire was 4.05 eV. With 10 ppm methylene blue (MB) as the degradation solution, ZTO nanowires exhibit excellent photodegradation efficiency. Reusability and stability in photodegradation of the nanowires were demonstrated. Photocatalytic efficiency increases with the number of Ag nanoparticles. The main reaction mechanism was confirmed by photocatalytic inhibitors. This study enriches our understanding of ZTO-based nanostructures and facilitates their applications in water splitting, sewage treatment and air purification. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:33:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-56c2557048fe47f3bd4b26601e87d936 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-4991 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:33:28Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nanomaterials |
| spelling | doaj.art-56c2557048fe47f3bd4b26601e87d9362023-11-30T23:45:56ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912022-04-01127120110.3390/nano12071201Fabrication and Photocatalytic Properties of Zinc Tin Oxide Nanowires Decorated with Silver NanoparticlesJia-Chi Su0Tsung-Lin Hsieh1Shu-Meng Yang2Shao-Chun Chao3Kuo-Chang Lu4Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, TaiwanDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, TaiwanDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, TaiwanDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, TaiwanDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, TaiwanWith the continuous advancement of high-tech industries, how to properly handle pollutants has become urgent. Photocatalysis is a solution that may effectively degrade pollutants into harmless molecules. In this study, we synthesized single crystalline Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub> (ZTO) nanowires through chemical vapor deposition and selective etching. The chemical bath redox method was used to modify the ZTO nanowires with Ag nanoparticles to explore the photocatalytic properties of the nanoheterostructures. The combination of the materials here is rare. Optical measurements by photoluminescence (PL) and UV–Vis show that the PL spectrum of ZTO nanowires was mainly in the visible light region and attributed to oxygen vacancies. The luminescence intensity of the nanowires was significantly reduced after modification, demonstrating that the heterojunction could effectively reduce the electron-hole pair recombination. The reduction increased with the increase in Ag decoration. The conversion from the UV–Vis absorption spectrum to the Tauc Plot shows that the band gap of the nanowire was 4.05 eV. With 10 ppm methylene blue (MB) as the degradation solution, ZTO nanowires exhibit excellent photodegradation efficiency. Reusability and stability in photodegradation of the nanowires were demonstrated. Photocatalytic efficiency increases with the number of Ag nanoparticles. The main reaction mechanism was confirmed by photocatalytic inhibitors. This study enriches our understanding of ZTO-based nanostructures and facilitates their applications in water splitting, sewage treatment and air purification.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/12/7/1201zinc tin oxidenanowireschemical vapor depositionsurface modificationphotocatalysisreactive radical species |
| spellingShingle | Jia-Chi Su Tsung-Lin Hsieh Shu-Meng Yang Shao-Chun Chao Kuo-Chang Lu Fabrication and Photocatalytic Properties of Zinc Tin Oxide Nanowires Decorated with Silver Nanoparticles Nanomaterials zinc tin oxide nanowires chemical vapor deposition surface modification photocatalysis reactive radical species |
| title | Fabrication and Photocatalytic Properties of Zinc Tin Oxide Nanowires Decorated with Silver Nanoparticles |
| title_full | Fabrication and Photocatalytic Properties of Zinc Tin Oxide Nanowires Decorated with Silver Nanoparticles |
| title_fullStr | Fabrication and Photocatalytic Properties of Zinc Tin Oxide Nanowires Decorated with Silver Nanoparticles |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fabrication and Photocatalytic Properties of Zinc Tin Oxide Nanowires Decorated with Silver Nanoparticles |
| title_short | Fabrication and Photocatalytic Properties of Zinc Tin Oxide Nanowires Decorated with Silver Nanoparticles |
| title_sort | fabrication and photocatalytic properties of zinc tin oxide nanowires decorated with silver nanoparticles |
| topic | zinc tin oxide nanowires chemical vapor deposition surface modification photocatalysis reactive radical species |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/12/7/1201 |
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