Enhanced photocatalytic performance of Ag decorated hierarchical micro/nanostructured TiO2 microspheres

• A fast microwave-assisted method was used to construct TiO2 microspheres (MTS).
• Ag nanoparticles were homogeneously decorated onto MTS.
• The as-prepared Ag decorated MTS showed an enhanced photocatalytic performance.
• The work gave a simple way to obtain Ag decorated TiO2 photocatalyst.

Uniform hierarchical micro/nanostructured TiO2 microspheres (MTS) composed of well-crystallized anatase phase nanoparticles were first fabricated by a fast and facile microwave-assisted hydrothermal method, then Ag nanoparticles were further decorated onto MTS by a simple polyvinylpyrrolidone-assisted reduction method (the product was denoted as Ag-MTS). The characterization data indicated that the Ag-MTS sample had a high specific surface area (121 m2 g−1) and abundant mesopores with Ag nanoparticles homogeneously dispersed among the TiO2 nanoparticles. The photocatalytic performance of Ag-MTS for the removal of organic dye methyl orange was evaluated. It was found that Ag-MTS showed an enhanced photocatalytic activity when compared to MTS and commercially available nano-sized TiO2 Degussa P25. The hierarchical micro/nanostructure (high specific surface area and abundant mesopores properties) together with Ag decoration contributed to the enhanced photocatalytic activity. In addition, Ag-MTS showed easy recovery feature in the recovery process and high durability in the recycling test, which was expected to be a practical photocatalyst used for wastewater treatment.

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