Micro-strip Coating Method for Improved Photocatalytic Performance of ZnO through Bimetal Coupling with AgCu

Abstract

The bimetal coupling of Ag and Cu into the matrix of ZnO semiconductor was successfully achieved using microwave irradiation technique under very low synthetic temperature and power of and 240 Watt, respectively. In order to determine the phase, structural, morphological and elemental composition of the synthesized nano-composite powder, some solid state characterizations such as Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Energy Dispersed X-ray (EDX) were employed. The energy band gaps of the nano-composites were estimated from adsorption data obtained from UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy. Elemental compositions were also confirmed through the XRF analysis result. The Photo-degradation efficiency of the synthesized AgCu-ZnO nano-composite was evaluated using the micro strip coating method with Nitrobenzene as the model organic pollutant. Maximum absorption time obtained was 30 minutes and 0.75 g as maximum mass load. The efficiency of the MW-synthesized nano-composite was found to be 98.83% after 2 hrs which is higher as compared with commercial ZnO, metal coupled Ag-ZnO and Cu-ZnO.