Oxidative degradation of methylene blue by Ag2O@g-C3N4 photocatalysts under visible light

Abstract Ag2O@g-C3N4 catalysts with p-n heterostructure were prepared by the hydrothermal method. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectric spectroscopy, and UV/visible light spectroscopy. Ag2O nanoparticles were uniformly distributed on the surface of g-C3N4 and a heterostructure was formed. The sample Ag2O@g-C3N4 degraded methylene blue (MB) dye by visible light, which showed that it had good photocatalytic activity. Under the same catalytic conditions, the catalytic efficiency of Ag2O@g-C3N4 is two times higher than that of pure g-C3N4. The improvement in catalytic efficiency is due to the formation of heterostructure between Ag2O and g-C3N4, which greatly reduces the recombination rate of electrons and holes. At the same time, Ag is a good electron trapping agent, which increases the mobility of electrons and holes and inhibits the photoetching of Ag2O. Finally, the photocatalytic principle of Ag2O@ g-C3N4 was analyzed for its excellent photocatalytic performance.