Ni@Ag Core-shell Nanoparticles act as Efficient Photocatalyst for the Degradation of Sulphur Dye in an Effluent Water and Electrocatalyst for Water Splitting

The Ni@Ag core-shell nanoparticles were prepared in the current work using a room temperature wet chemical process, and they were examined by applying various methods such as XRD, UV–visible absorption spectroscopy, PL, FTIR, and VSM to determine their properties. The face-centred cubic (FCC) structure with an average crystallite size of 21 nm was verified by XRD investigation to include both Ni and Ag. The absorption peak was apparent in the UV region (316 nm) and visible regions (394 nm), as demonstrated by the UV–vis absorption spectroscopy method. For the synthesized sample, the PL spectrum of the produced nanopowder revealed emission peaks in the visible blue and green areas. The distinctive peaks of Ni and Ag were also seen when observed in FTIR spectrum. The morphological property of the produced Ni@Ag core-shell nanoparticles was studied using HR-SEM, and the average particle size was in the range of 60–95 nm. The EDS spectrum revealed the purity of the prepared nanopowder. The polycrystalline nature and phase confirmation of the nanopowder were validated using HR-TEM and SAED, respectively. These investigations indicated that the clustered spherical nanoparticles with an average particle size of 25–60 nm. VSM research was used to demonstrate the room-temperature ferromagnetic interaction of Ni@Ag core-shell nanoparticles. Ni@Ag core-shell nanostructure is an efficient photocatalyst for waste water treatment, as evidenced by the sample's 97% efficiency from degrading activity within 80 min. From the electrochemical water splitting experiment, it can be observed that the electrocatalyst Ni@Ag core-shell nanoparticles can electrolyze to create OER and HER.