Colonies of electrochemically active microorganisms called electroactive biofilms (EABs) have potential applications in bioenergy and chemical production. In the present study, an EAB was used as a reducing tool to synthesize Ag-decorated ZnO@C core–shell (Ag–ZnO@C) ternary plasmonic photocatalysts. A simple thermal decomposition route was followed to synthesize ZnO@C nanoparticles using a zinc aniline nitrate complex. The simultaneous adsorption of Ag⁺ in the carbon shell of the ZnO@C particles during reduction using an EAB allowed the direct contact among Ag nanoparticles, the ZnO core, and the carbon shell. Therefore, the synthesized Ag–ZnO@C ternary photocatalysts showed a stronger interconnection among all the components, which allowed the easy transfer of photogenerated charges and provided enhanced charge carrier separation. Optical characterization showed that the enhanced absorption of visible light along with a decrease in the band gap and a red shift in the valence band maximum occurred due to the decoration of Ag-nanoparticles on ZnO@C. Ag–ZnO@C exhibited higher photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamine blue and 4-nitrophenol under visible light irradiation than ZnO@C and bare ZnO without any significant loss after five successive cycles. Finally, a possible photocatalytic mechanism for charge transfer was proposed to explain the enhanced photocatalytic performance of the Ag–ZnO@C ternary photocatalyst. This study provides insights into the ternary photocatalytic system with a core–shell material and offers a biogenic route for the facile fabrication of Ag–ZnO@C photocatalysts.

中文翻译：

---

电化学活性生物膜辅助生物合成具有增强的可见光催化活性的银修饰的ZnO @ C核-壳三元等离激元光催化剂

被称为电活性生物膜（EAB）的具有电化学活性的微生物菌落在生物能源和化学生产中具有潜在的应用。在本研究中，EAB被用作还原工具，以合成由Ag装饰的ZnO @ C核-壳（Ag-ZnO @ C）三元等离激元光催化剂。遵循简单的热分解路线，使用硝酸锌苯胺锌络合物合成ZnO @ C纳米粒子。Ag ⁺的同时吸附在使用EAB还原过程中，ZnO @ C颗粒的碳壳中的碳原子允许Ag纳米粒子，ZnO核和碳壳之间直接接触。因此，合成的Ag-ZnO @ C三元光催化剂在所有组分之间表现出更强的互连性，这使得光生电荷易于转移并增强了电荷载流子的分离。光学表征表明，由于在ZnO @ C上修饰了银纳米颗粒，可见光吸收增强，带隙减小，价带最大值出现红移。Ag-ZnO @ C在可见光照射下对罗丹明蓝和4-硝基苯酚的降解表现出比ZnO @ C和裸露的ZnO更高的光催化活性，连续五个周期后无明显损失。最后，提出了一种可能的电荷转移光催化机理来解释Ag-ZnO @ C三元光催化剂的增强光催化性能。这项研究提供了对具有核-壳材料的三元光催化系统的见解，并为轻松制造Ag-ZnO @ C光催化剂提供了一条生物途径。