Photocatalytic Activity of Silver-Based Biomimetics Composites
Different Ag@TiO<sub>2</sub> and Ag@ZnO catalysts, with nanowire (NW) structure, were synthesized containing different amounts of silver loading (1, 3, 5, and 10 wt.%) and characterized by FE-SEM, HRTEM, BET, XRD, Raman, XPS, and UV–vis. The photocatalytic activity of the composites was...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Biomimetics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/6/1/4 |
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| author | Abniel Machín Loraine Soto-Vázquez Carla Colón-Cruz Carlos A. Valentín-Cruz Gerardo J. Claudio-Serrano Kenneth Fontánez Edgard Resto Florian I. Petrescu Carmen Morant Francisco Márquez |
| author_facet | Abniel Machín Loraine Soto-Vázquez Carla Colón-Cruz Carlos A. Valentín-Cruz Gerardo J. Claudio-Serrano Kenneth Fontánez Edgard Resto Florian I. Petrescu Carmen Morant Francisco Márquez |
| author_sort | Abniel Machín |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Different Ag@TiO<sub>2</sub> and Ag@ZnO catalysts, with nanowire (NW) structure, were synthesized containing different amounts of silver loading (1, 3, 5, and 10 wt.%) and characterized by FE-SEM, HRTEM, BET, XRD, Raman, XPS, and UV–vis. The photocatalytic activity of the composites was studied by the production of hydrogen via water splitting under UV–vis light and the degradation of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. The maximum hydrogen production of all the silver-based catalysts was obtained with a silver loading of 10 wt.% under irradiation at 500 nm. Moreover, 10%Ag@TiO<sub>2</sub> NWs was the catalyst with the highest activity in the hydrogen production reaction (1119 µmol/hg), being 18 times greater than the amount obtained with the pristine TiO<sub>2</sub> NW catalyst. The most dramatic difference in hydrogen production was obtained with 10%Ag@TiO<sub>2</sub>-P25, 635 µmol/hg, being 36 times greater than the amount reported for the unmodified TiO<sub>2</sub>-P25 (18 µmol/hg). The enhancement of the catalytic activity is attributed to a synergism between the silver nanoparticles incorporated and the high surface area of the composites. In the case of the degradation of ciprofloxacin, all the silver-based catalysts degraded more than 70% of the antibiotic in 60 min. The catalyst that exhibited the best result was 3%Ag@ZnO commercial, with 99.72% of degradation. The control experiments and stability tests showed that photocatalysis was the route of degradation and the selected silver-based catalysts were stable after seven cycles, with less than 1% loss of efficiency per cycle. These results suggest that the catalysts could be employed in additional cycles without the need to be resynthesized, thus reducing remediation costs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:29:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-663ff8feb41944e0a363d947c85ca80b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2313-7673 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:29:58Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biomimetics |
| spelling | doaj.art-663ff8feb41944e0a363d947c85ca80b2023-11-21T08:08:49ZengMDPI AGBiomimetics2313-76732021-01-0161410.3390/biomimetics6010004Photocatalytic Activity of Silver-Based Biomimetics CompositesAbniel Machín0Loraine Soto-Vázquez1Carla Colón-Cruz2Carlos A. Valentín-Cruz3Gerardo J. Claudio-Serrano4Kenneth Fontánez5Edgard Resto6Florian I. Petrescu7Carmen Morant8Francisco Márquez9Arecibo Observatory, Universidad Ana G. Méndez-Cupey Campus, San Juan 00926, Puerto RicoMaterials Characterization Center, Molecular Sciences Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan 00926, Puerto RicoNanomaterials Research Group, School of Natural Sciences and Technology, Universidad Ana G. Méndez-Gurabo Campus, Gurabo 00778, Puerto RicoNanomaterials Research Group, School of Natural Sciences and Technology, Universidad Ana G. Méndez-Gurabo Campus, Gurabo 00778, Puerto RicoNanomaterials Research Group, School of Natural Sciences and Technology, Universidad Ana G. Méndez-Gurabo Campus, Gurabo 00778, Puerto RicoDepartment of Chemistry, University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras, San Juan 00925, Puerto RicoMaterials Characterization Center, Molecular Sciences Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan 00926, Puerto RicoIFToMM-ARoTMM, Bucharest Polytechnic University, 060042 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Applied Physics, Autonomous University of Madrid and Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales Nicolas Cabrera, 28049 Madrid, SpainNanomaterials Research Group, School of Natural Sciences and Technology, Universidad Ana G. Méndez-Gurabo Campus, Gurabo 00778, Puerto RicoDifferent Ag@TiO<sub>2</sub> and Ag@ZnO catalysts, with nanowire (NW) structure, were synthesized containing different amounts of silver loading (1, 3, 5, and 10 wt.%) and characterized by FE-SEM, HRTEM, BET, XRD, Raman, XPS, and UV–vis. The photocatalytic activity of the composites was studied by the production of hydrogen via water splitting under UV–vis light and the degradation of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. The maximum hydrogen production of all the silver-based catalysts was obtained with a silver loading of 10 wt.% under irradiation at 500 nm. Moreover, 10%Ag@TiO<sub>2</sub> NWs was the catalyst with the highest activity in the hydrogen production reaction (1119 µmol/hg), being 18 times greater than the amount obtained with the pristine TiO<sub>2</sub> NW catalyst. The most dramatic difference in hydrogen production was obtained with 10%Ag@TiO<sub>2</sub>-P25, 635 µmol/hg, being 36 times greater than the amount reported for the unmodified TiO<sub>2</sub>-P25 (18 µmol/hg). The enhancement of the catalytic activity is attributed to a synergism between the silver nanoparticles incorporated and the high surface area of the composites. In the case of the degradation of ciprofloxacin, all the silver-based catalysts degraded more than 70% of the antibiotic in 60 min. The catalyst that exhibited the best result was 3%Ag@ZnO commercial, with 99.72% of degradation. The control experiments and stability tests showed that photocatalysis was the route of degradation and the selected silver-based catalysts were stable after seven cycles, with less than 1% loss of efficiency per cycle. These results suggest that the catalysts could be employed in additional cycles without the need to be resynthesized, thus reducing remediation costs.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/6/1/4photocatalysishydrogen productionciprofloxacinsilver nanoparticlesTiO<sub>2</sub>ZnO |
| spellingShingle | Abniel Machín Loraine Soto-Vázquez Carla Colón-Cruz Carlos A. Valentín-Cruz Gerardo J. Claudio-Serrano Kenneth Fontánez Edgard Resto Florian I. Petrescu Carmen Morant Francisco Márquez Photocatalytic Activity of Silver-Based Biomimetics Composites Biomimetics photocatalysis hydrogen production ciprofloxacin silver nanoparticles TiO<sub>2</sub> ZnO |
| title | Photocatalytic Activity of Silver-Based Biomimetics Composites |
| title_full | Photocatalytic Activity of Silver-Based Biomimetics Composites |
| title_fullStr | Photocatalytic Activity of Silver-Based Biomimetics Composites |
| title_full_unstemmed | Photocatalytic Activity of Silver-Based Biomimetics Composites |
| title_short | Photocatalytic Activity of Silver-Based Biomimetics Composites |
| title_sort | photocatalytic activity of silver based biomimetics composites |
| topic | photocatalysis hydrogen production ciprofloxacin silver nanoparticles TiO<sub>2</sub> ZnO |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/6/1/4 |
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