Microwave–Assisted Synthesis of SiO2/ZnO Photocatalyst with Core-Shell Structure

The SiO₂/ZnO nanocomposite with a core-shell structure for photocatalysis from water-soluble zinc salts and sodium silicate was synthesized using the hydrothermal-microwave method. The physicochemical properties of the synthesized SiO₂/ZnO were studied and its photocatalytic activity was tested. The band gaps of the heat-treated composite \(E_{{\text{g}}}^{{{\text{dir}}}}\) and \(E_{{\text{g}}}^{{{\text{indir}}}}\) are 3.35 and 3.32 eV, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of the resulting SiO₂/ZnO was determined by the decomposition reaction of methylene blue under UV irradiation. The conversion of methylene blue was determined by optical method. The resulting SiO₂/ZnO has high photocatalytic activity. The conducted studies showed the effectiveness of microwave synthesis of SiO₂/ZnO with a core-shell structure in comparison with traditional methods.