Photocatalytic effect of Ag and Ag/Pt doped silicate non crystalline material on methyl violet — Experimental and theoretical studies

• Ag/Pt doped silicate materials were prepared by sol–gel method.
• Characterization by SEM, TEM, RAMAN, XRD and UV–visible DRS analysis
• Ag/Pt doped silicate catalyzed photodegradation of methyl violet was examined.
• The pore size of the silica model has been determined using DFT method.
• Mechanism of photocatalytic effect of bimetal doped silicate material was discussed.

Ag/Pt bimetallic nanoparticles are the recent research interest because of their high catalytic activity and tunable surface plasmon resonance. The prepared nanobimetal (Ag/Pt) doped silicate material was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopic image, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Ultra Violet–visible diffuse reflectance spectral analysis (UV–visible DRS). Photodegradation and decolorization of methyl violet (MV) on Ag and Ag/Pt doped silicate material by using UV light has been studied. The mechanism of photocatalytic effect of nanobimetal doped silicate material has been discussed. A theoretical IR study on the silicate structure model was discussed. Silicate pore size has been calculated by using DFT method to ascertain the doping.