Study of Ag Loaded TiO2/ZnO Nanocomposites for Photocatalytic Activity

In this research work we reported preparation of TiO2-ZnO and Ag loaded TiO2-ZnO nanoparticles with various Ag content via a controlled and an energy efficient microwave assisted method. The structure and properties of photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM and TEM. The crystallite size was found to be 14 nm. The obtained nanomaterials are pseudo-cube in shape. These results are better than pristine TiO2. The present research work is mainly focused on the enhancement of degradation efficiency of methyl orange (MO) using UV light (365nm). A 94% photodegradation efficiency of MO was achieved by utilizing optimal photocatalysts (Ag-TiO2-ZnO (0.5 wt% Ag)) at 1 g/dm3 at within 90 min.