A novel visible-light-driven ternary Ag@Ag2O/BiOCl Z-scheme photocatalyst with enhanced removal efficiency of RhB

Abstract

In this work, a novel ternary Ag@Ag₂O/BiOCl Z-scheme photocatalyst driven by visible light was successfully fabricated through a simple two-step route in which the Ag@Ag₂O cocatalyst was decorated on {001} crystal facets of BiOCl nanosheets. As controls, BiOCl nanosheet, Ag₂O nanoparticle and Ag/BiOCl composite were also synthesized by the appropriate means. The as-synthetized samples were investigated by various characterization methods. Compared with the pristine BiOCl, Ag₂O and Ag/BiOCl counterparts, the Ag@Ag₂O/BiOCl composite exhibited a superior performance towards RhB degradation with an efficiency of 91.2% within 120 min under visible light illumination of which the reaction rate is about 32, 3 and 5 times as much as pristine BiOCl, Ag₂O and Ag/BiOCl samples, respectively. The enhanced performance for RhB degradation may be ascribed to a possible Z-scheme junction, which is advantageous to effectively boost interfacial charge transport and depress the photoinduced carrier recombination. The detailed Z-scheme mechanism towards RhB degradation of the Ag@Ag₂O/BiOCl composite was also further explored and discussed.