Ag and Cu2O modified 3D flower-like ZnO nanocomposites and evaluated by photocatalysis oxidation activity regulation

In this study, Ag and Cu2O nanoparticles modified flower-like ZnO nanostructures have been successfully synthesized by stepwise method, and the photocatalytic properties were investigated in detail. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffractions analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to analyze the samples. Meanwhile, the derived nanoparticles' structured and morphologic characters were analyzed by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller. The results have shown that the 3D flower-like ZnO microspheres were composed of 2D ZnO nanosheets decorated Ag and Cu2O and exhibiting flower-like Ag@Cu2O/ZnO architectures. We studied the optical absorption (UV-vis) as well as emission (PL) characters of the specimen and the outcomes suggested more superior photocatalytic characteristics for cuprous oxide and silver co-doped zinc oxide sample compared to other samples. Electron Paramagnetic Resonance test results show that there are mainly center dot O-2(-),h(+) and OH center dot free radicals in the process of CR degradation. A Radical-trapping test indicated that of center dot O(2)(- )and h(+) was more effective than OH center dot( )in the degradation of CR.