Abstract
A composite photocatalyst based on silver carbonate (Ag2CO3) loaded on activated carbon (AC) was prepared by ion-exchange deposition method. The obtained photocatalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV/Vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy (DRS), N2 adsorption–desorption measurements and transient photocurrent measurements. The removal efficiency of Ag2CO3/AC composite including adsorption and photodegradation was studied for degrading Rhodamine B (RhB) in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. Compared with the pure Ag2CO3, the prepared composite catalyst has larger surface area and adsorption capacity of organic pollutants. It could be summarized that synergy of photodegradation and adsorption has a great improvement for the removal of RhB under visible light irradiation compared with that of only adsorption without light. A remarkable RhB removal efficiency of 96.6% was achieved by the prepared Ag2CO3/AC (20%) composite. The possible catalytic reaction mechanism of Ag2CO3/AC was also proposed.
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