https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-026-02173-6
Regular Article
Effect of Ag doping on the properties of green-synthesized and spin-coated zinc oxide nanoparticle thin films for photocatalyst and UV photodetector applications
Department of Science and Humanities, Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), 620 012, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India
a
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Received:
24
October
2025
Accepted:
27
January
2026
Published online:
21
February
2026
Abstract
In this work, silver (Ag)-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) with different Ag dopant concentrations of 0, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.2 wt% were green synthesized using Cocos nucifera leaf extract and spin-coated on glass substrates, followed by annealing at 500 °C. The X-ray diffraction analysis indicates the presence of a hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO with reduced crystallite size upon an increase in Ag doping concentration. The small peaks at 472 and 565 cm−1 in the Fourier transform infrared spectra indicate the existence of Zn–O and Ag–O bonds in Ag-doped ZnO-NP thin films. The scanning electron microscopy images revealed a decrease in grain size from 423 to 298 nm with an increase in Ag-doping concentration. The ultraviolet–visible absorbance spectra displayed a surface plasmon resonance peak at ~ 420 nm, revealing the existence of Ag-NPs embedded in the ZnO matrix besides doping in the ZnO lattice. The 1.2 wt% Ag-doped ZnO-NP thin film showed the highest photocatalytic activity with 89% methylene blue (MB) dye degradation efficiency after 60 min of exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light, with a reusability of three cycles. The radical trapping test demonstrated that •OH radicals play a major role in dye degradation. It also achieved enhanced UV photodetector performance with 873% sensitivity and detectivity of 1.68 × 1010 Jones. Thus, the present work provides green-synthesized and spin-coated Ag-doped ZnO-NP thin films as promising and affordable candidates for photocatalytic and optoelectronic device applications.
Copyright comment Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2026
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
