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Abstract <p>In this study, pure ZnO and Ag-decorated ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized using chemical co-precipitation method to investigate their photocatalytic efficiency for degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under solar irradiation. The synthesized materials were investigated using various characterization techniques. Structural analysis by X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the hexagonal wurtzite phase of ZnO and showed an increase in crystallite size from 12 nm for pure ZnO to 26 nm for Ag-decorated ZnO, indicating the influence of Ag on the crystal structure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed a decrease in average particle size from 961.5 to 883.4 nm after the incorporation of Ag. UV-Visible absorption Spectroscopy showed a reduced bandgap of 2.64 eV for Ag-decorated ZnO compared to pure ZnO, suggesting improved light absorption in the visible range. Photocatalytic experiments showed that pure ZnO achieved 60% degradation of MB within 80 minutes, while Ag-decorated ZnO exhibited a significantly higher degradation efficiency of 72% in the same time. The apparent rate constant for Ag-decorated ZnO was 0.001173&#xa0;min<sup>–1</sup>, which is significantly higher than that of pure ZnO (0.0001521 min<sup>–1</sup>). The enhanced photocatalytic activity is attributed to the synergistic effects of Ag nanoparticle-induced surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and reduced particle size, which together enhance light collection, charge separation, and reduce electron-hole recombination.</p>

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Enhanced Solar Light Activated Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue via Ag-decorated ZnO Nanoparticles

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月13日

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  • Farheen Jameel,
  • Ejaz Muhammad,
  • Tariq Jan

摘要

Abstract

In this study, pure ZnO and Ag-decorated ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized using chemical co-precipitation method to investigate their photocatalytic efficiency for degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under solar irradiation. The synthesized materials were investigated using various characterization techniques. Structural analysis by X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the hexagonal wurtzite phase of ZnO and showed an increase in crystallite size from 12 nm for pure ZnO to 26 nm for Ag-decorated ZnO, indicating the influence of Ag on the crystal structure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed a decrease in average particle size from 961.5 to 883.4 nm after the incorporation of Ag. UV-Visible absorption Spectroscopy showed a reduced bandgap of 2.64 eV for Ag-decorated ZnO compared to pure ZnO, suggesting improved light absorption in the visible range. Photocatalytic experiments showed that pure ZnO achieved 60% degradation of MB within 80 minutes, while Ag-decorated ZnO exhibited a significantly higher degradation efficiency of 72% in the same time. The apparent rate constant for Ag-decorated ZnO was 0.001173 min–1, which is significantly higher than that of pure ZnO (0.0001521 min–1). The enhanced photocatalytic activity is attributed to the synergistic effects of Ag nanoparticle-induced surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and reduced particle size, which together enhance light collection, charge separation, and reduce electron-hole recombination.