Ag nanoparticle/ZnO nanorods nanocomposites derived by a seed-mediated method and their photocatalytic properties

Ag nanoparticle/ZnO nanorods (Ag NP/ZnO NRs) nanocomposites with a core/shell structure were prepared by a seed-mediated method, which contains a polyol synthesis of Ag NPs and an overgrowth process of ZnO NRs on the surface of Ag NPs. Compared with the previously reported Ag/ZnO nanocomposites which were mostly constructed by a ZnO core and a Ag shell, the nanocomposites reported in this article showed a novel structure that contained a Ag NP core and ZnO NRs shell, resulting a hedgehog-like morphology. Electron microscope images reveal that the volume content ratio of Ag NPs colloids and the ZnO precursory solution is crucial for the morphology of the resulted samples and a well-constructed Ag NP/ZnO NRs core/shell nanocomposite can be easily obtained when their volume content ratio is set at a proper value. X-ray diffraction analysis shows a good crystalline property of both Ag NPs and ZnO NRs. The relationship between the growing temperature and the morphology of the resulted samples was investigated and a possible growing mechanism of the Ag NP/ZnO NRs nanocomposites was also proposed and discussed. Furthermore, photocatalytic activities of the resulting samples with different morphologies were also studied.