Ag3BiO3/g-C3N4 Nanocomposite As Efficient Visible-Light Photocatalyst for Degradation of Methyl Orange

Abstract

A novel Z-scheme Ag3BiO3/g-C3N4 composites were synthesized by a hydrothermal reaction method. The composition, structure and optical property of as-prepared catalysts were characterized by XRD, DRS, FT-IR, SEM, EDS, PL spectra. Compared with pure g-C3N4 and pure Ag3BiO3, the Ag3BiO3/g-C3N4 composites show enhanced photocatalytic activity (degradation efficiency was ~78% within 180 min) in photodegrading methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation. Combining with the scavenger experiment results, we found the superoxide radicals ( $${}^{ \bullet }{\text{O}}_{2}^{ - }$$ ) and the holes (h+) were dominant active radical in the degradation of MO. Furthermore, we put forward a possible mechanism, a direct Z-scheme heterojunction between Ag3BiO3 and g-C3N4, with the photocatalytic activity results shown that the performance of Z-scheme Ag3BiO3/g-C3N4 composites were dependent on the content of g-C3N4.