Designing Novel Nonsymmetric Ag/AgI Nanoplates for Superior Photocatalytic Activity.

Precisely engineering the decoration of metal nanoparticles on the special surface of semiconductor represents a promising strategy to design efficient metal-semiconductor heterostructured photocatalysts. This study demonstrates a versatile soft-template method to fabricate a novel nonsymmetrical heterostructured Ag/AgI nanoplate, in which only one side surface of the nanoplate is covered with uniform 2D Ag nanoweb. Compared with symmetrical heterostructure, the nonsymmetrical heterostructure may further facilitate the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and shows a greatly enhanced photocatalytic activity. This study may open up a new way to improve the photocatalytic property by synthesizing nonsymmetrical metal-semiconductor composites.