Comparative study of the photocatalytic degradation of 2-chlorophenol under UV irradiation using pristine and Ag-doped species of TiO, ZnO and ZnS photocatalysts.

A comparative photocatalytic degradation of 2-chlorophenol (2CP) in aqueous solution was investigated using pristine and Ag-doped semiconductor photocatalysts obtained from TiO, ZnO and ZnS. Varying percentages (1, 3 and 5%) of Ag nanoparticles were doped on the semiconductor photocatalysts via the sol-gel method. The pristine and Ag-doped photocatalysts were characterized using UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, photo-luminescence spectroscopy, X-Ray diffractometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy; and these techniques confirmed the successful syntheses of the pristine and Ag-doped species.