Asian Research Journal of Current Science

Silver chromate [Ag₂CrO₄] nanoparticles with an average size of 55 nm were prepared with the aid of microwave irradiation. The sun-light photocatalytic activity of Ag₂CrO₄ nanocrystals was investigated. The potential of the silver chromate nanoparticles as photocatalyst against two organic dyes such as Methylene blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RhB) was tested. The Silver chromate nanoparticles play a dual role. The silver chromate nanoparticles adsorbed and concentrated the dye from the bulk solution and in another role degraded the adsorbed dye, resulting in a high rate of dye degradation. The photocatalytic mechanism of the one step synthesized Ag₂CrO₄ nanocatalyst was studied. The combination of holes (h+), hydroxyl (OH^_), and O₂ takes place in the Ag₂CrO₄ mediated photocatalytic degradation of the dyes. Under sun light illumination at neutral pH, the silver chromate nanoparticles were proven as an excellent adsorbent and photocatalyst for the complete degradation of Methylene blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RhB) within 50 min. These valuable findings motivated the design of dye degradation processes. In addition, a possible formation mechanism of Ag₂CrO₄ nanocrystals was also proposed according to the experimental results.