Preparation of ZnO/Ag Heterostructure Material by One-pot Method for Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance

A porous ZnO/Ag heterostructure photocatalyst was prepared by a simple one-pot method. The photocatalytic degradation of ammonia and dye indicated that compared with pure ZnO, the photocatalytic activity of ZnO/Ag was significantly improved after Ag modification. The main reason for the improvement of photocatalytic activity is that the recombination process of photoinduced electrons and holes of ZnO was inhibited by interconversion of Ag+ and Ag-0 at the surface of ZnO. In addition, the effective separation of the photogenerated carriers can generate more active groups, which can promote the degradation of ammonia and organic dyes.