Comparison of the (photo)catalytic efficiency of Ag/Fe nanocomposites prepared by polyol synthesis and laser ablation

Abstract

Two different synthesis approaches were used to prepare silver/iron oxides nanocomposites: the polyol synthesis and laser ablation. The nanocomposites consisted of 10–20 nm Ag nanoparticles immersed in 100––300 nm iron oxide structures, being the Ag:Fe greater for the nanomaterial prepared by the chemical procedure. Both nanomaterials were able to catalyze the NaBH4-mediated reduction of the model contaminant 3-nitrophenol (3-NP). Photoirradiation had no effect on the performance of the nanocomposite prepared by laser ablation, whereas it produced a drastic improvement of the catalytic effect of the nanomaterial prepared by polyol synthesis, a result related to the silver content of the nanomaterials. A heterogeneous photocatalytic mechanism is proposed.