APPLICATION OF ULTRASONIC TREATMENT FOR INCREASING THE PHOTOCHEMICAL ACTIVITY OF Ti[O.sub.2]-Ag ELECTROEXPLOSIVE BICOMPONENT NANOPARTICLES

• Published in: Russian physics journal 2023-01, Vol.65 (9), p.1419
• Main Authors: Bakina, O.V, Svarovskaya, N.V, Chzhou, V.R, Suliz, K.V
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Decomposition (Chemistry); Methylene blue; Nanoparticles
• ISSN: 1064-8887
• DOI: 10.1007/s11182-023-02785-8

The thermally and chemically stable Ti[O.sub.2] nanoparticles possessing a wide bandgap and a low toxicity are the most frequently used photocatalysts for decomposition of organic substances. However, a high rate of recombination of electron-hole pairs and a high energy of photoactivation significantly limit their applications. Modification of Ti[O.sub.2] with silver promotes surface charge separation and increases their photochemical activity. In the present study, the Ti[O.sub.2]-Ag bicomponent nanoparticles are prepared by an electric explosion of metal wires in the atmosphere of 85 vol.% Ar--15 vol.% [O.sub.2]. This method demonstrates a high production rate (170-200 g/h) quite sufficient for their large-scale manufacturing. However, electroexplosive nanoparticles are mostly agglomerates having sizes within 200-500 nm, which significantly reduces their photochemical activity in the test decomposition reaction of the model dye methylene blue under the visible light. It is shown that an ultrasonic treatment of the Ti[O.sub.2]-Ag nanoparticles in an aqueous suspension for 15 min provides a 10% increase in their photochemical activity. Keywords: electric explosion of wires, composite nanoparticles, titanium oxide, silver, photocatalyst.