Photocatalytic Obtaining and Optical Properties of Composites Based on Layered Niobates and Silver Nanoparticles

The photocatalytic properties of layered semiconductors, namely KNb3O8, and a product of its acid treatment, namely K3H3Nb10.8O30 in the reduction reaction of silver ions with the formation of the corresponding metal-semiconductor nanostructures are established. Electron microscopy has shown that silver nanoparticles are deposited mainly on the edges of niobate rods and plates when potassium niobate suspensions are irradiated with UV light in the presence of AgNO3. Silver nanoparticles of 10-30 nm are formed when K3H3Nb10.8O30 is used as a photocatalyst; they are deposited on the niobate surface and practically do not have a surface plasmon resonance band in the visible range of the spectrum, which may be associated with the formation of Ag2O on the surface of silver nanoparticles or the formation of their chain aggregates.