Ag/TiO2/EP: a low-cost and floating plasmonic photocatalyst for degrading furfural under visible light irradiation

Abstract

A low-cost visible light-driven silver/titanium oxide/expanded perlite (Ag/TiO2/EP) as a floating plasmonic photocatalyst is fabricated by a simple hydrolysis method. Photocatalytic properties of Ag/TiO2/EP have been studied by scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, UV–Vis (DRS), EDAX, FTIR, chemiluminescence, photoluminescence and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy methods. The photocatalytic activity of resulting Ag/TiO2/EP with different Ag contents (3 and 5%) was evaluated by its ability to degrade furfural solution under visible light irradiation. The Ag/TiO2/EP exhibits wide absorption in the visible light region and shows visible light-driven photocatalytic activities in furfural degradation compared with TiO2/EP photocatalyst. The Ag/TiO2/EP (5%) was the best concentration of photocatalyst dosage with almost 80% furfural degradation under visible light. The antibacterial character of Ag/TiO2/EP with different Ag contents has been tested against Escherichia Coli under visible light. The photocatalytic activity of Ag/TiO2/EP can be attributed to the plasmonic effect of silver in the separation of photoinduced electrons and holes in resulting photocatalyst. The Ag/TiO2/EP (5%) as a floating photocatalyst combined with its ability to absorb visible light makes it of significant interest for the purification of industrial wastewater.