ZnO nanorod arrays decorated with AgCl nanoparticles as highly efficient visible-light-driven photocatalyst

Well-aligned ZnO nanorod arrays (NRAs) are decorated with AgCl nanoparticles by an environment-friendly and low-cost route to achieve the highly efficient photocatalytic property under visible light. The content of AgCl is varied by controlling the times of successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR). The photocatalytic results indicate that all ZnO/AgCl NRAs display outstanding photocatalytic activities as compared to pure ZnO NRAs, and the Ag/Zn molar ratios in ZnO/AgCl composites have an obviously influence on the decomposition of rhodamine B (RhB). ZnO/AgCl NRAs with the Ag/Zn molar ratio of about 3.26% achieve the best photocatalytic activity, which is about 5.4 times higher than that of pristine ZnO NRAs. Furthermore, ZnO/AgCl NRAs show the good stability, and ZnO/AgCl NRAs as photocatalysts are expected to be promising in sewage water treatment.