Solid substrates decorated with Ag nanostructures for the catalytic degradation of methyl orange

There is a strong demand for development of catalytically active solid substrates for heterogeneous catalysis applications. This study reports fully solution-processable and scalable fabrication of solid substrates decorated with Ag nanostructures for the degradation of organic dyes. Ag nanostructures were prepared by direct surface-growth from Pt nanoparticles that were immobilized on Si substrates modified with a layer of end-grafted poly(2-vinylpyridine). The proper choice of the growth conditions and seed-selective growth from Pt nanoparticles were critically important in fabricating Ag nanostructures with high catalytic activity and large surface coverage. The catalytic performance of the presented platform was studied by the reduction of methyl orange by borohydride ions and monitored using UV–visible spectrometry. The substrates exhibited high catalytic activity enabling degradation of 10−5 M methyl orange solution in less than an hour with an apparent reaction rate constant of 33.5 × 10−3 min−1. The substrates can be easily removed from the degradation medium and used multiple times. Our approach presents an effective strategy for waste water management applications avoiding the agglomeration and separation issues of colloidal catalysts and overcoming the need for tedious and costly fabrication of thin films.