Comparison study of the effects of different synthesis methods towards Ag₂O/TiO₂ nanowires’ morphology and catalytic activity on the 4-nitrophenol reduction reaction

Ways to process 4-nitrophenol in wastewater have been developed, including the catalyzed reduction reaction that produces 4-aminophenol. Silver nanoparticles, containing one of the noble metals that are commonly used as heterogeneous catalysts, are a good option for reducing 4-nitrophenol. In this research, silver oxide was attached to the surface of TiO₂ nanowires as the catalyst support. The Ag₂O loading onto the TiO₂ nanowires was achieved using three different methods, which are molten-salt, precipitation and impregnation. This study aims to evaluate how these different synthesis techniques affect the structure and morphology of the catalysts, along with their resulting catalytic activities. From the characterizations and analysis, it was observed that the synthesis method affects certain catalyst properties. It was found that impregnation loading of Ag₂O onto TiO₂ nanowires produced a catalyst that demonstrated the optimum catalytic performance, with a rate constant of 2.71 × 10⁻² s⁻¹, as reviewed from its reaction rate compared to the other samples.