Synergistic impact of two-dimensional Ag2O/Co3O4 nanocomposites for improved photocatalytic performance

Abstract

The development of a stable, cost-effective and efficient photocatalyst for the detoxification of organic pollutants is significant and has become the main challenge. Herein, two-dimensional (2D)-Ag2O/Co3O4 nanocomposites were synthesized via a facile and novel soft chemical procedure in the existence of non-ionic surfactant pluronic F-68 for the first time for utilizing in photodegradation of Foron Blue (FB) dyes. The N2 isotherms Ag2O/Co3O4 nanocomposites indicated the existence of the IV isotherm type, confirming the formation of mesopores structure. The photodegradation efficiency of Ag2O/Co3O4 nanocomposites is much better than bare Co3O4 NPs, and the 0.9%Ag2O/Co3O4 is considered the optimum one with 100% FB dye degradation after 40 min of illumination. Interestingly, the photodegradation rate over 0.9% Ag2O/Co3O4 nanocomposite was promoted 2.5 times larger than that bare Co3O4 NPs. The highest kapp values (0.0789 min−1) for 0.9% Ag2O/Co3O4 nanocomposites is about 4 times higher than bare Co3O4 (0.0202 min−1). The excellent synergistic impact between Ag2O and Co3O4 indicated the advantageous visible-light-induced FB dye degradation efficiency compared with bare Co3O4 NPs. The 0.9%Ag2O/Co3O4 nanocomposite exhibited the highest photocurrent density and lowest PL emission peak under illumination due to the facilitated interfacial hole mobility and prohibited electron recombination. The formation energy bands of Ag2O/Co3O4 with S-scheme junction can suppress photoinduced electron-hole recombination and form more active species for photodegradation of FB dye. It is worth noting that the incorporation of Ag2O NPs at a specific amount is played an essential role in improving the degradation efficiency. In addition, it exhibited excellent durability and stability even after five consecutive cycles.