Efficient photodegradation of resorcinol with Ag2O/ZnO nanorods heterostructure under a compact fluorescent lamp irradiation

Ag2O/ZnO heterostructure has been recently synthesized using a facile chemical-precipitation method. X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy results confirmed the Ag2O nanoparticles loading on ZnO nanorods. The Ag2O addition increased the visible light absorption ability and a red shift for Ag2O/ZnO heterostructure appeared when compared to pure ZnO. Photoluminescence spectra showed lower emission yield on the Ag2O/ZnO heterostructure than on pure ZnO. Such a decrease in the emission yield represents the fraction of the excited state Ag2O sensitizer involved in the charge injection process. Under compact fluorescent lamp irradiation, the Ag2O/ZnO heterostructure demonstrated higher photocatalytic activity than pure ZnO in the degradation of resorcinol, which can be attributed to the high separation efficiency of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs based on the cooperative roles of Ag2O loading on ZnO nanarods. All these characteristics represent a significant contribution of the Ag2O/ZnO heterostructure to the practical applications in indoor environmental remediation.