Photocatalytic activity of hybrid Ag/Er:ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by pulsed laser ablation in distilled water

We have studied the photocatalytic performance of ZnO, Er:ZnO, hybrid Ag/ZnO, and Ag/Er:ZnO colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized by pulsed laser ablation of stoichiometric targets and silver plate in double distilled water. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed the polycrystalline structure of the ablated NPs. The morphology of the nanoparticles was examined by the transmission electron microscope (TEM). The optical properties of the prepared colloidal NPs were investigated by the UV-visible absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopies. The photodegradation of the Rhodamine 6G organic dye was utilized to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of the produced colloidal NPs under illumination by UV light. The hybrid Ag/Er:ZnO colloidal NPs showed enhanced photodegradation efficiency of 96.4%, after 45 min of UV irradiation, compared to 79.7% of the pristine ZnO NPs. The obtained results point out the enhancing effect of the dopants on the photocatalytic performance of ZnO, and further demonstrate the pulsed laser ablation of bulk materials in pure water as a fast and eco-friendly technique for producing efficient nanoparticle photocatalysts.