Fabrication of novel heterostructured catalyst Ag@AgCl/Bi2Ti2O7and its excellent visible light photocatalytic performance

Abstract

An excellent visible light responsive heterostructured photocatalyst Ag@AgCl/Bi2Ti2O7 was successfully fabricated through solvothermal method and subsequent deposition-precipitation/co-sintering process. The phase structure, morphology, specific surface area, surface chemical composition and state, and light absorption ability of the samples were characterized. The as-prepared Ag@AgCl/Bi2Ti2O7 heterostructured composites exhibit an obvious enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity in photodecomposition of rhodamine B (RhB) compared to Ag/AgCl and Bi2Ti2O7. A possible photocatalytic mechanism was proposed based on photoelectrochemical measurement and free radical trapping experiments, the synergistic effect of surface plasmonic resonance (SPR) of Ag0 photoreduced from AgCl can decrease the recombination rate of photogenerated carriers via transferring electrons from the surface of Ag0 to Bi2Ti2O7, which accelerates the excellent visible light photocatalytic activity of Ag@AgCl/Bi2Ti2O7. Moreover, four-cycle photodegradation reaction process of RhB on Ag@AgCl/Bi2Ti2O7 indicates an excellent stability.