Graphene oxide coupled AgBr nanosheets: an efficient dual-functional visible-light-responsive nanophotocatalyst with enhanced performance

Abstract

A facile 2-dimensional coupling of AgBr nanosheets with graphene oxide (GO) sheet has been developed to fabricate an efficient dual-functional visible-light-responsive GO@AgBr nanophotocatalyst. Compared to bare AgBr nanosheets, the as-obtained GO@AgBr nanocomposite exhibits enhanced photocatalytic activity towards degradation of rhodamine-B (RhB) and evolution of H₂ from aqueous-methanol solution. The RhB molecules can be decomposed completely within 4 min under visible light irradiation and the catalyst can be reused 10 times without losing activity. A possible mechanism for the highly efficient photocatalyst is proposed, implying GO serves as electron acceptor to facilitate the charge transfer and suppress the recombination of electron–hole pairs. This work provides a convenient means for the exploration of highly efficient and stable GO-based composite photocatalysts.