Synthesis of WO3/AgI photocatalysts applying for degradation of antibiotics in water

Abstract

In this paper, AgI was successfully synthesized in the presence of WO3 to form AgI/WO3 Z scheme hetero-junction by solid-phase heating method and by varying the WO3 mole ratio (1:0.5, 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3) with respect to the AgI. The PL spectra indicate that the introduction of WO3 to AgI can efficiently suppress the recombination of photo-generated charge carrier. The photocatalytic activity of WO3/AgI was investigated under visible light by using the Amoxicillin (AMX) antibiotic as an organic target in aqueous solution. The WO3/AgI photoactivity for AXM was greatly enhanced when both materials were coupled to form a Z-scheme system. The highest degradation percentage was reached using the WO3/AgI material ratio mole of 1/1. As compared with to the pure WO3 and AgI, the WO3/AgI hybrid material show remarkably improved visible-induced photocatalytic activities in degrading AMX for the enhanced transport ability of electrons and holes.