Preparation of TiO2 loaded with crystalline nano Ag by a one-step low-temperature hydrothermal method

Abstract

TiO₂ loaded with crystalline nano silver (c-Ag/TiO₂) was successfully synthesized by a one-step low-temperature hydrothermal method in aqueous solution using tetra-n-butyl titanate and AgNO₃ as precursors. The structure and morphology were characterized by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-Vis absorption spectra (UV-Vis) and fluorescence spectra (FS). The photocatalytic activity was tested with photocatalytic degradation of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) gas. The results show that the nano silver particles of Ag/TiO₂ prepared by the one-step low-temperature hydrothermal method are crystalline, while they are amorphous when prepared by the conventional UV reduction deposition method (a-Ag/TiO₂). The photocatalytic activity of the c-Ag/TiO₂ prepared by the hydrothermal method was found to have a significant improvement for H₂S degradation, being more than 2 times over that of the a-Ag/TiO₂ prepared by the conventional method.