Facile fabrication of Ag@CoFe₂O₄-ZnO hybrid plasmonic nanostructures with enhanced photocatalytic performance

We report simple and cost-effective synthesis of magnetically separable Ag@CoFe₂O₄-ZnO hybrid nanostructures with excellent photocatalytic performance. To analyze the structure, morphology and chemical composition of the synthesized Ag@CoFe₂O₄-ZnO nanostructures, measurements including XRD, FESEM, and XPS have been performed. XRD study revealed that the size of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) increased from 16.1 to 17.3 nm upon increasing the Ag concentration. The optical studies undertaken using Raman, PL, and UV–Visible spectroscopy confirmed the integration of Ag NPs onto the surface of CoFe₂O₄-ZnO nanostructures. Integration of Ag NPs onto CoFe₂O₄-ZnO nanostructures resulted in decrease in bandgap which varied from 2.81 to 1.75 eV. The photocatalytic response of the hybrid nanostructures was studied toward the decomposition of pollutants (MB, MO) under sunlight irradiation. The results revealed the photodegradation capability is largely enhanced by loading of Ag NPs and sample CA3 achieved photodecomposition rate constant 0.039 and 0.016 min⁻¹ toward the degradation of MB and MO dyes, respectively. Additionally, in situ scavenger test showed that ·OH radicals play major role in photodecomposition of pollutants and recyclability results depict that Ag@CoFe₂O₄-ZnO hybrid plasmonic photocatalysts exhibit excellent reusability, high stability, and strong magnetic response. Overall, Ag@CoFe₂O₄-ZnO hybrid nanostructures proved as extremely promising for use in the field of photocatalysis at large scale.