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Rapid Microwave‐Assisted Nonaqueous Synthesis and Growth Mechanism of AgCl/Ag, and Its Daylight‐Driven Plasmonic Photocatalysis
Author(s) -
Jiang Jing,
Zhang Lizhi
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201002951
Subject(s) - photocatalysis , methyl orange , surface plasmon resonance , microwave , photochemistry , materials science , ostwald ripening , plasmon , rhodamine b , pollutant , chemical engineering , chemistry , nuclear chemistry , nanotechnology , nanoparticle , optoelectronics , catalysis , organic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
We report on a rapid microwave‐assisted nonaqueous synthesis and the growth mechanism of AgCl/Ag with controlled size and shape. By rationally varying the reaction temperature and the microwave irradiation time, we achieved the transformation of nanocubes to rounded triangular pyramids by a combined process of “oriented attachment” and Ostwald ripening. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) properties of the as‐prepared AgCl/Ag have been found to be somewhat dependent on the size, morphology, and composition. The as‐prepared AgCl/Ag exhibits high photocatalytic activity and good reusability for decomposing organic pollutants (such as methyl orange (MO), rhodamine B (RhB), and pentachlorophenol (PCP)) under indoor artificial daylight illumination (ca. 1 mW cm −2 ). The AgCl/Ag has also been found to display a superior ability to harvest diffuse indoor daylight (ca. 5 mW cm −2 ), and could complete the degradation of 10 mg L −1 MO within 15 min. Experiments involving the trapping of active species have shown that the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in the AgCl/Ag system may proceed through direct hole transfer. This study has revealed that plasmonic daylight photocatalysis may open a new frontier for indoor pollutant control around the clock under fluorescent lamp illumination.