title: Size effects of Ag nanoparticles on plasmon-induced enhancement of photocatalysis of Ag-α-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites.
abstract: Composite photocatalysts that consist of semiconductor and noble metal nanostructures have been considered to be the promising and crucial materials for straightforward improving the efficiency in photocatalytic process and for the conversion of solar to chemical energy. In this work, we fabricated Ag-α-Fe2O3 hybrid composites through a self-catalytic growth method by using the aldehyde-modified spindle α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) as supports. The size of supported Ag NPs can be directly controlled on the surface of α-Fe2O3. The morphology and structure of the resulting Ag-α-Fe2O3 hybrid composites were studied by various techniques, including SEM, TEM, and XRD. The distinct photocatalytic behaviors were examined through the photodegradation of RhB dye. It was found that with the Ag NPs, the photocatalytic activities were enhanced greatly and the size of the Ag NPs played a crucial influence on the photocatalytic behaviors of the Ag-α-Fe2O3 composites.
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, PR China; School of Physics and Engineering, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471000, PR China.
authors.forename: Shaofeng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, PR China. Electronic address: fren@whu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, PR China; School of Printing and Packaging and School of Chemistry and Molecular Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, PR China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, PR China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, PR China.
authors.forename: Lingling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiangheng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, PR China.
authors.forename: Changzhong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jiang
keywords: Hybrid structure; Iron oxide; Noble metal; Photocatalysis; Semiconductor