One-pot triethanolamine-assisted hydrothermal synthesis of Ag/ZnO heterostructure microspheres with enhanced photocatalytic activity

The Ag/ZnO heterostructure microspheres were prepared via a simple one-pot triethanolamine (TEA)-assisted hydrothermal route and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), UV–vis Diffuse Reflectance Absorption Spectra (DRS) and Photoluminescence Spectra (PL), demonstrating that Ag nanoparticles were attached on the surface of ZnO microspheres. The photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) by the as-synthesized Ag/ZnO microspheres was investigated and optimized, indicating the best photocatalytic performance of Ag/ZnO of 1:150 (mol/mol). This may be attributed to the charge separation of photogenerated electrons and holes by Ag/ZnO heterostructure microspheres, which is interpreted by the proposed mechanism for Ag/ZnO heterostructure microspheres as catalyst.