Facile in situ synthesis of silver nanocomposites based on cellulosic paper for photocatalytic applications

Abstract

In this work, various photocatalysts were synthesized with an impregnation-precipitation process to in situ decorate Ag-based nanoparticles (NPs, including Ag₃PO₄, AgCl, Ag₂O, and Ag₂CO₃) on the cellulosic paper. The structure and properties of the Ag-based composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmitting electron microscopy, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra, and photocatalysis testing. The results showed that cellulosic paper is an efficient carrier which is feasible to grasp NPs due to the cellulosic nanofiber-network microstructure. Among the obtained samples, Ag₂CO₃ and AgCl NPs on cellulosic paper displayed high photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methyl orange under ultraviolet and visible light. However, photo lability of Ag₂CO₃ limits its recyclable. AgCl showed a better reutilization with the assistance of a surface plasmon resonance effect by Ag NPs that were grown in situ on the AgCl NPs, which formed Ag@AgCl nanocomposite structure. The photocatalytic activity of the AgCl/cellulosic paper decreased only slightly after three runs of photodegradation of methyl orange. The possible mechanism for photocatalysis was proposed. This work may provide a new method for the design of silver-based NPs/cellulosic paper nanocomposite photoreactors with favorable photocatalytic activities for industrial applications.