Improved Photochemical Reactivities of Ag₂O/g-C₃N₄in Phenol Degradation under UV and Visible Light

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Ag 2 O/g-C 3 N 4 composites synthesized in this study were applied in the photocatalytic degradation of phenol under UV- and visible-light irradiation. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy analysis demonstrated that Ag 2 O nanoparticles were well distributed on the surface of g-C 3 N 4, and the heterostructure of Ag 2 O/g-C 3 N 4 was formed. Compared with pure g-C 3 N 4 and Ag 2 O, the Ag 2 O/g-C 3 N 4 composite (8:1) displayed much higher photocatalytic activities in phenol degradation under UV- and visible-light irradiation. The degradation rate constant of 8:1 was 0.069 min –1 under visible light, which was almost 230 and 2.1 times more than that of pure g-C 3 N 4 and Ag 2 O, respectively. Moreover, the formation of a certain amount of Ag 0 on the surface of Ag 2 O under illumination contributed to the high stability of Ag 2 O/g-C 3 N 4 photocatalysts. It was also found that photogenerated holes during the photocatalytic process played the predominant role in phenol degradation. The improved photochemical reactivities were attributed to the formation of the heterostructure between Ag 2 O and g-C 3 N 4, the strong visible-light absorption, and the high separation efficiency of photoinduced electron–hole pairs resulting from the highly dispersed Ag 2 O particles.