Fabrication and visible-light photocatalytic properties of nano-Ag10Si4O13.

Ag x Si y O z has the potential to inhibit the recombination of photoinduced electron hole pairs via an internal electric field induced by asymmetrical Si–O tetrahedral chains. The strength of the [SiO 4 ] tetrahedral produces a very strong internal electric field for Ag 10 Si 4 O 13. Here, a novel and convenient synthetic strategy for nano-Ag 10 Si 4 O 13 based on a sol-gel method is proposed. A small band gap, an internal electric field and a small size ensure good efficiency for nano-Ag 10 Si 4 O 13 during all chemical dynamical processes, including charge excitation, charge separation and charge transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]