Plasmonic photocatalyst system using Ag/AgBr/mordenite nanocrystal under visible light

In this paper, plasmonic photocatalyst nanostructure system was investigated on Ag/AgBr/mordenite nanocrystal under visible light. Silver nanoparticles were readily prepared using dispersing agent and calcinations. The X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and diffuse-reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) demonstrated that silver bromide were introduced on the surface of mordenite nanocrystal and then Ag nanostructured photocatalytic materials were successfully synthesized. The silver nanoparticles plasmonic photocatalysts exhibited the enhanced photocatalytic performance over mordenite nanocrystal. The photocatalytic activity and stability of the synthesized catalysts were evaluated for methylene blue (MB) degradation in aqueous solution in the presence of 60 W tungsten filament Philips lamp. Several parameters were examined, catalyst amount, pH and initial concentration of MB, AgBr loading. The support size was obtained about 100-150 nm. In the same way, the average size of silver nanoparticles was obtained about 8 nm, before visible radiation. After visible radiation the average size of Ag nanoparticles was about 30 nm. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.