Controllable in-situ synthesis of Ag/BiOI and Ag/AgI/BiOI composites with adjustable visible light photocatalytic performances

• DOI: 10.1016/j.matlet.2014.06.058
• Publication Date: 2014-06-16T17:40:07Z
• Authors: Haili Lin; Yijie Zhao; Yunjian Wang; Jing Cao; Shifu Chen
• Keywords: Rhodamine B; Visible spectrum; Degradation

Abstract Ag/BiOI and Ag/AgI/BiOI composites were successfully in-situ synthesized via the same facile photoreduction strategy through adjusting the Ag + amount. The scanning electron microscopy shows that Ag and Ag/AgI nanoparticles were loaded on the surface of BiOI microplates. The formation of Ag originated from the surface adsorbed Ag + for Ag/BiOI while from the first-step cation-exchange generated AgI for Ag/AgI/BiOI. Under visible light ( λ >420 nm), both Ag/BiOI and Ag/AgI/BiOI displayed higher photocatalytic activities than pure BiOI for degradation of rhodamine B. It provides a universal way to obtain Ag/BiOX and Ag/AgX/BiOX photocatalysts using photoreduction strategy for their potential application in water purification.