Facile synthesis of Ag/AgCl/3D-rGO with rapid catalytic degradation toward Methyl Orange and Rhodamine B

Abstract

Ag/AgCl/3D-rGO is facilely synthesized by a mild method, and the resulting composite catalyst is systematically characterized by means of Scanning Electron Microscope, Energy Dispersive Spectrometer, Raman Spectra, X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and X-Ray Diffraction. The characterization result shows that Ag/AgCl nanoparticles are homogeneously dispersed throughout the sheet surface of the block graphene oxide. The catalytic activity of the resulting composite is assessed by the degradation of Methyl Orange (MO) and Rhodamine B (RhB) in the presence of sodium borohydride. The pseudo-first order kinetic study shows that Ag/AgCl/3D-rGO possesses outstanding catalytic degradation activity toward both MO and RhB. The degradation rates of MO and RhB can reach 92 % and 98 % in 15 min, respectively, indicating the rapid catalytic performance of the resulting Ag/AgCl/3D-rGO in the presence of sodium borohydride. In addition, the possible formation and dyes degradation mechanism of Ag/AgCl/3D-rGO are also proposed. The excellent catalytic activity reveals that Ag/AgCl/3D-rGO may have a promising potential application in organic dye wastewater treatment.