Open Access

Enhanced Methylene Blue Dye Degradation by Newly Synthesized Ag2O-TiO2 Heterostructure

Daniel, Professor and Head D. Sriprabha, Department of Nanotechnology, Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College, Coimbatore, TN, India. T. Mohankumar, Department of Nanotechnology, Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College, Coimbatore, TN, India. D. Nataraj
Department of Physics, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, TN, India.

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Abstract

Silver (Ag) coated TiO₂ heterostructure was prepared by precipitation method using equal ratio of silver nitrate (AgNO₃) and as-synthesized TiO₂ nanobelt. The X-ray diffraction study results indicate high crystalline nature of the Ag₂O/TiO₂ heterostructure. The surface morphology of Ag₂O/TiO₂ heterostructure has thoroughly been investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The stability and thermal studies of Ag₂O/TiO₂ heterostructure were examined by using Zeta analyzer and Differential Scanning Calorimetry, respectively. Photocatalytic activity studies were carried out using Methylene Blue (MB) as a model molecule to highlight the consequence of Ag₂O/TiO₂ heterostructure. The reuse of Ag₂O/TiO₂ nanobelt after annealing shows the excellent recovery of the catalyst. These studies may contribute to additional applications of hierarchical Ag₂O/TiO₂ heterostructure membranes, including harnessing sunlight for water treatment and photo catalytic activity.

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Reference

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