RT Journal Article
T1 Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of Semiconductor Nanocomposites Doped with Ag Nanoclusters Under UV and Visible Light
A1 González-Rodríguez, Jorge
A1 Fernández Fernández, Lucía
A1 Bava, Yanina B.
A1 Buceta Fernández, David
A1 Vázquez Vázquez, Carlos
A1 López Quintela, Manuel Arturo
A1 Feijoo Costa, Gumersindo
A1 Moreira Vilar, María Teresa
K1 AOPs
K1 Zinc oxide
K1 Nanoclusters
K1 Photocatalysis
K1 UVA
K1 Visible light
AB Emerging contaminants (ECs) represent a wide range of compounds, whose complete elimination from wastewaters by conventional methods is not always guaranteed, posing human and environmental risks. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), based on the generation of highly oxidizing species, lead to the degradation of these ECs. In this context, TiO2 and ZnO are the most widely used inorganic photocatalysts, mainly due to their low cost and wide availability. The addition of small amounts of nanoclusters may imply enhanced light absorption and an attenuation effect on the recombination rate of electron/hole pairs, resulting in improved photocatalytic activity. In this work, we propose the use of silver nanoclusters deposited on ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO–Ag), with a view to evaluating their catalytic activity under both ultraviolet A (UVA) and visible light, in order to reduce energetic requirements in prospective applications on a larger scale. The catalysts were produced and then characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). As proof of concept of the capacity of photocatalysts doped with nanoclusters, experiments were carried out to remove the azo dye Orange II (OII). The results demonstrated the high photocatalytic efficiency achieved thanks to the incorporation of nanoclusters, especially evident in the experiments performed under white light
PB MDPI
YR 2020
FD 2020
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/21904
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/21904
LA eng
NO González-Rodríguez, J.; Fernández, L.; Bava, Y.B.; Buceta, D.; Vázquez-Vázquez, C.; López-Quintela, M.A.; Feijoo, G.; Moreira, M.T. Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of Semiconductor Nanocomposites Doped with Ag Nanoclusters Under UV and Visible Light. Catalysts 2020, 10, 31
NO This research was supported by two projects granted by Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities: MODENA Project CTQ2016-79461-R and CLUSTERCAT Project MAT2015-67458-P, and Fundación Ramón Areces, Spain (Project CIVP18A3940)
DS Minerva
RD 27 abr 2026