A hybrid design of Ag-decorated ZnO on layered nanomaterials (MgAC) with photocatalytic and antibacterial dual-functional abilities

Abstract

In this work, Ag@ZnO and Ag@ZnO/MgAC photocatalysts were synthesized using a simple two-step electrochemical method by the addition of magnesium aminoclay (MgAC) as a great stabilizer and a Lewis base, which could donate electrons for reduction of Ag⁺ and Zn²⁺ ions, facilitating uniform formation as well as effective inhibition of aggregation of Ag@ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) on the MgAC matrix. Ag@ZnO and Ag@ZnO/MgAC were investigated for photocatalytic degradation of MB and their antibacterial efficiencies. Ag@ZnO/MgAC showed excellent photocatalytic MB degradation with a performance of 98.56% after 80 min of visible-light irradiation and good antibacterial activity against Salmonella (Sal) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacterial strains, providing promising high application potential. Herein, different from the bare ZnO NPs, for Ag@ZnO/MgAC nanocomposites, Ag@ZnO NPs functioned as an effective photocatalyst under visible light illumination, in which, incorporated Ag atoms in the ZnO crystal structure caused the increase in a larger number of lattice defect sites. Benefiting from the strong surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of Ag and energy band matching between ZnO and Ag, the visible light absorption capacity and the separation of the photogenerated charge carriers were promoted. Therefore, the MB degradation efficiency of Ag@ZnO/MgAC was considerably accelerated in the presence of produced radicals from visible light illumination.