Preparation of TiO2 loaded with crystalline nano Ag by a one-step low-temperature hydrothermal method

TiO 2 loaded with crystalline nano silver (c-Ag/TiO 2 ) was successfully synthesized by a one-step low-temperature hydrothermal method in aqueous solution using tetra- n -butyl titanate and AgNO 3 as precursors. The structure and morphology were characterized by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-Vis absorption spectra (UV-Vis) and fluorescence spectra (FS). The photocatalytic activity was tested with photocatalytic degradation of hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) gas. The results show that the nano silver particles of Ag/TiO 2 prepared by the one-step low-temperature hydrothermal method are crystalline, while they are amorphous when prepared by the conventional UV reduction deposition method (a-Ag/TiO 2 ). The photocatalytic activity of the c-Ag/TiO 2 prepared by the hydrothermal method was found to have a significant improvement for H 2 S degradation, being more than 2 times over that of the a-Ag/TiO 2 prepared by the conventional method. TiO 2 loaded with crystalline nano silver was successfully synthesized by a one-step low-temperature hydrothermal method. Its photocatalytic activity was found to be significantly improved for hydrogen sulfide gas degradation compared to amorphous Ag/TiO 2 prepared by the conventional method