Journal of Hazardous Materials, Vol.263, 45-51, 2013
Sonochemical synthesis of solar-light-driven Ag degrees-PbMoO4 photocatalyst
Ag degrees-PbMoO4 photocatalysts were synthesized by facile sonochemical method with different mol.% of Ag nanoparticles dispersed on the surface of PbMoO4. The synthesized powders were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) Spectroscopy, X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS) to investigate the crystal structure, morphology, chemical composition, and optical properties of the photocatalyst. Photocatalytic activities of the Ag degrees-PbMoO4 samples were evaluated by the degradation of Indigo Carmine (IC) dye under simulated solar light irradiation. It has been observed that the sample containing 0.3 mol.% of Ag showed the best photocatalytic activity as compared to other samples. The results suggest that the dispersion of Ag nanoparticles on the surface of PbMoO4 significantly enhances the photocatalytic activity of PbMoO4. Increase in photocatalytic activity of Ag degrees-PbMoO4 photocatalyst has been explained on the basis of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect caused by the silver nanoparticles present in the photocatalyst (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.