One-pot synthesis of high-index faceted AgCl nanocrystals with trapezohedral, concave hexoctahedral structures and their photocatalytic activity

AgCl semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) with trapezohedral (TPH) and concave hexoctahedral (HOH) structures have been successfully synthesized for the first time in high yield by a direct one-pot solvothermal method. The as-prepared TPH, concave HOH AgCl NCs with unconventional polyhedral shapes and smooth surfaces were enclosed by 24 high-index {311} facets and 48 high-index {15 5 2} facets, respectively. A specific ionic liquid poly(diallyldimethylammonium) chloride (PDDA) acted as both a Cl− ion precursor and a morphology-controlled stabilizer, which was indispensable for the formation of these high-index faceted AgCl polyhedra and the derived uniform octahedral AgCl in an appropriate concentration of hot AgNO3 and ethylene glycol (EG) solution. With high-index facets exposed, both TPH and concave HOH AgCl NCs exhibit much higher photocatalytic activity than octahedral AgCl NCs that have mainly {111} faces exposed, with lower surface areas and surface energies, for the degradation of organics under sunlight. It is expected that the use of polyhedral AgCl NCs with high-index facets is an effective approach for the design of alternative semiconductor photocatalysts with a high performance, which may find potential applications such as in photochromics and environmental management.