The production of an efficient visible light photocatalyst for CO oxidation through the surface plasmonic effect of Ag nanoparticles on SiO2@α-Fe2O3 nanocomposites

Abstract

A process for the photo deposition of noble Ag nanoparticles on a core–shell structure of SiO₂@α-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposite spheres was performed to produce a CO photo oxidation catalyst. The structural analyses were carried out for samples produced using different Ag metal nanoparticle weight percentages on SiO₂@α-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposite spheres by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), UV-vis spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). A computational study was also performed to confirm the existence of the synergic effect of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for different weight percentages of Ag on the SiO₂@α-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites. The mechanism for CO oxidation on the catalyst was explored using diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRFIT). The CO oxidation results for the Ag (2 wt%)-SiO₂@α-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposite spheres showed 48% higher photocatalytic activity than α-Fe₂O₃ and SiO₂@α-Fe₂O₃ at stable temperature.