Abstract
In this work, a series of novel flower-like Ag@AgCl/Bi2O2CO3 were prepared by simple and feasible oil-in-water self-assembly processes. The phase structures of as-prepared samples were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF), etc. The characterization results indicated that the presence of Ag@AgCl did not affect the crystal structure, but exerted a great influence on the photocatalytic activity of Bi2O2CO3 and enhanced the absorption band of pure Bi2O2CO3. The photocatalytic activities of the Ag@AgCl/Bi2O2CO3 samples were determined by photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. The Ag@AgCl (10 wt %)/Bi2O2CO3 composite showed the highest photocatalytic activity, degrading 97.9% MB after irradiation for 20 min, which is over 1.64 and 3.66 times faster than that of pure Ag@AgCl (calculated based on the equivalent Ag@AgCl content in Ag@AgCl (10 wt %)/Bi2O2CO3) and pure Bi2O2CO3, respectively. Bisphenol A (BPA) was also degraded to further prove the degradation ability of Ag@AgCl/Bi2O2CO3. Photocurrent studies indicated that the recombination of photo-generated electron–hole pairs was decreased effectively due to the formation of heterojunctions between flower-like Bi2O2CO3 and Ag@AgCl nanoparticles. Trapping experiments indicated that O2−, h+ and Cl° acted as the main reactive species for MB degradation in the present photocatalytic system. Furthermore, the cycling experiments revealed the good stability of Ag@AgCl/Bi2O2CO3 composites. Based on the above, a photocatalytic mechanism for the degradation of organic compounds over Ag@AgCl/Bi2O2CO3 was proposed.
Highlights
Bismuth-based oxides with 3D hierarchical architectures have recently attracted much attention among various semiconductor photocatalysts such as Bi2 O3 [1], Bi2 WO6 [2], Bi2 MoO6 [3], BiOCl [4]and Bi2 O2 CO3 [5] because of their valence bands hybridized by O 2p and Bi 6s [6]
Previous reports revealed that silver@silver halide [21] (Ag@AgX (X = Cl, Br and I)) photocatalysts possess excellent visible light driven photocatalytic degradation efficiencies for organic pollutants and disinfection capabilities due to the localized surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect exhibited by Ag nanoparticles (NPs)
The results further indicate the chemical uniformity within individual particles, which clearly confirms that the Ag@AgCl NPs were uniformly uniformity within individual particles, which clearly confirms that the Ag@AgCl NPs were distributed on the surface of the Bi2 O2 CO3 flower-like microspheres
Summary
Bismuth-based oxides with 3D hierarchical architectures have recently attracted much attention among various semiconductor photocatalysts such as Bi2 O3 [1], Bi2 WO6 [2], Bi2 MoO6 [3], BiOCl [4]. Zheng and co-workers have synthesized flower-like, sponge-like, porous spheres and plate-like Bi2 O2 CO3 samples, and have investigated their photocatalytic properties with regards to the degradation of organic pollutants under solar light [14]. It is necessary to develop an effective strategy to improve charge separation efficiency and to enhance the visible light responsive activity of photocatalysts. To address this issue, an enormous amount of research effort has been focused on combining. Previous reports revealed that silver@silver halide [21] (Ag@AgX (X = Cl, Br and I)) photocatalysts possess excellent visible light driven photocatalytic degradation efficiencies for organic pollutants and disinfection capabilities due to the localized surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect exhibited by Ag nanoparticles (NPs). Ag@AgCl/Bi2 O2 CO3 composites were discussed in detail
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