Synthesis and characterisation of WO3 and Ag2O nanoparticles and their nanocomposite for photocatalytic degradation of dyes

Al-Zoha Warsi, Taloot Ahmad, Fatima Aziz, Muhammad Farooq Warsi, Sana Munir, Philips O. Agboola, Imran Shakir
2022 figshare.com  
In this research, tungsten oxide (WO3), silver oxide (Ag2O), and Ag2O/WO3 nanocomposites were synthesised by precipitation and sonication method, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and UV-Visible spectroscopy were used to confirm the structural, spectral, morphological, and optical properties of as-synthesised samples, respectively. The as-prepared Ag2O/WO3 nanocomposite showed improved photocatalytic
more » ... ion activity for rhodamine B and methylene blue under solar light compared to pristine WO3 and Ag2O. The percentage degradation values were 79.6%, 86.1% and 90.8% for WO3, Ag2O and Ag2O/WO3 nanocomposite for methylene blue and 70.9%, 80.7% and 87.25% for rhodamine B. One of the possible reasons behind this improved photocatalytic degradation was decreased recombination of photo-generated holes and electrons due to the formation of nanocomposite between WO3 and Ag2O. Optical band gap values for WO3, Ag2O and Ag2O/WO3 nanocomposite were 2.93 eV, 1.59 eV and 1.38 eV, respectively. The Mott-Schottky plot confirmed the formation of nanocomposite and p-type and n-type behaviour of Ag2O and WO3, respectively.
doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.19792988.v1 fatcat:3qewax2w7jfyvk5cbnebyuzloa