1D-2D Ag nanowire/g-C3N4 hybrid obtained via a post-mechanical-mixing route for photocatalytic Rhodamine B degradation

Abstract

The photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (Rh B) wastewater using Ag/g-C3N4 composites has aroused great interests. To date, the composite is dominated by Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) on the g-C3N4 surface. Only a few studies have concentrated on 1D Ag nanowires (AgNWs) wrapped with g-C3N4 which could bring some new aspects. The wrapped structures can provide large interface, which promotes the exciton dissociation. Moreover, AgNWs with high conductivity can facilitate a fast charge transfer from g-C3N4 and therefore suppress the charge recombination. Herein, a facile approach via a post-mechanical-mixing route has been used to fabricate 1D-2D AgNWs/g-C3N4 composites with enhanced photocatalytic activity for Rh B degradation. AgNWs staggered arrangement can form a conductive network for fast charge transfer. The light absorption of the hybrid in the visible-light region is increased due to the light-scattering from 1D AgNWs. Moreover, conformal contact between AgNWs and g-C3N4 promotes the separation of photo-induced electron-hole pairs. The AgNWs/g-C3N4 hybrid for 2 wt% achieves the best photocatalytic activity for Rh B dye degradation. This work reports an idea using 1D–2D metal-organic hybrid materials as photocatalysts and proposes a facile post-mechanical-mixing method for fabricating hybrids toward various applications.