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Controlled Assembly of a Ternary‐Component Photocatalyst: Illustrating the Importance of Interfacial‐Integration of Ag‐ZnO‐rGO in Visible‐Light‐Induced Catalytic Activity
Author(s) -
Reddy Thuniki Naveen,
Meher Songhita,
Begum Gousia,
Panda Binod B.,
Rana Rohit K.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
chemistryselect
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 34
ISSN - 2365-6549
DOI - 10.1002/slct.201900722
Subject(s) - photocatalysis , ternary operation , catalysis , materials science , visible spectrum , oxide , graphene , nanoparticle , plasmon , component (thermodynamics) , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , chemistry , optoelectronics , organic chemistry , computer science , physics , engineering , thermodynamics , programming language , metallurgy
We demonstrate a bio‐inspired multi‐component assembly method to design oriented composite structures for application as visible‐light sensitive plasmon‐induced photocatalysts. Similar to the role of polypeptides in the formation of intricately designed structures of biominerals, we utilize spermine to simultaneously mineralize and assemble the photocatalytic system consisting of ZnO, Ag nanoparticles and reduced graphene oxide under mild reaction conditions. With an appropriately assembled interfacial structure and composition, the resulted material exhibits efficient catalytic activity under visible‐light irradiation. The activity of this ternary system is higher by more than one order compared with that for the binary and the ternary systems prepared via alternative methods. These results with detailed analyses reveal the importance of the interfacial assembly in creating synergistic interactions among the components. Furthermore, this interaction allows the photocatalyst to remain active and stable in the reaction addressing the issues pertaining to the charge recombination and photo‐corrosion known in plasmon‐induced ZnO‐based catalytic systems.