Hydrothermal preparation of boehmite-doped AgCl nanocubes and their characterization

A simple hydrothermal route to the preparation of the boehmite-doped AgCl nanocubes using AgNO3, AlCl3·6H2O and NaOH at 200 °C for 24 h is reported. The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), UV–vis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential thermal analysis (DTA). FE-SEM and TEM micrographs showed that the obtained boehmite-doped AgCl had nanocube-like morphology. The influence of heating temperature on the phase, microstructure, morphology, and thermal stability of the products were also investigated. UV–visible results indicated that the absorption edge moved to higher wavelength with the increasing heating temperature. These materials would be a promising material for photocatalyst applications.