Abstract
A novel ternary Ag decorated TiO2/sepiolite (AgTiS) composites were synthesized via a facile solvothermal reaction in an acetic acid–water solvent. The morphology, structure, and photoelectric properties of AgTiS were characterized in detail, and the results showed that Ag decorated TiO2 nanoparticles with a diameter of 10–20 nm were highly dispersed on the sepiolite nanofibers. Compared with TiO2, sepiolite, and TiO2/sepiolite, the designed AgTiS composites exhibited markedly enhanced photocatalytic activity in the degradation of methyl orange (MO) under UV–vis light (350≤λ ≤ 780 nm) and visible light (λ ≥ 420 nm) irradiation. Specifically, the 5%AgTiS composite exhibited the best photocatalytic activity, achieving 100% photocatalytic efficiency after 50 min of UV–vis light or 260 min of visible light irradiation, respectively. The trapping of active species showed that holes and superoxide radicals played important roles in the photocatalytic degradation of MO process. The excellent photocatalytic performance was ascribed to the low band-gap energy (2.65 eV), the effective charge separation, and the sepiolite carrier effect (large specific surface area, well distribution, and enhanced adsorption ability).
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