Title
A New Ag/AgBr/LaAlO3 Plasmonic Composite: Synthesis, Characterization, and Visible-Light Driven Photocatalytic Activity
Author
Perala Venkataswamy, Mannepalli Sudheera, Kammara Vaishnavi, Kadari Ramaswamy, Gundeboina Ravi, Muga Vithal
Year
2020
Journal
Journal of Electronic Materials
Abstract
In recent years, fabricating the visible-light induced photocatalysts based on the concept of plasmonic photocatalysis provides an efficient way to reduce environmental pollution. Accordingly, the present investigation has been carried out to develop such materials based on lanthanum aluminate (LaAlO3; LAO) and Ag/AgBr. The Ag/AgBr/LAO composite is prepared by deposition of metallic Ag nanoparticles onto the pre-prepared AgBr/LAO heterostructure by visible-light photo-reduction. The characteristic properties of synthesized catalysts were investigated by using a variety of techniques such as XRD, N2 adsorption–desorption, FESEM/EDX/EDS mapping, TEM-HRTEM, UV–Vis DRS, FT-IR, XPS, and PL measurements. The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) was used as a probe reaction to evaluate their photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation. Because of the higher surface area with vast mesoporous nature, enhanced visible light absorption, and more efficient charge separation after the deposition of Ag/AgBr, the composite Ag/AgBr/LAO showed enhanced photocatalytic activity compared with pristine LAO. The recycling experiment revealed excellent stability (up to five successive cycles) of Ag/AgBr/LAO composite. Furthermore, a photocatalytic mechanism is proposed for the degradation of MB over Ag/AgBr/LAO composite. The composite Ag/AgBr/LAO can be used as a promising catalyst for environmental remediation.
Instrument
V-650, FP-8500
Keywords
Absorption, Diffuse reflectance, Band gap, Kinetics, Optical properties, Materials, Fluorescence, Photoluminescence