Enhanced degradation of organic compounds under visible light by O-C3N4/Ag2O p-n heterojunction photocatalysts

Abstract

In order to reduce the preparation cost of traditional g-C3N4/Ag2O composite photocatalyst and improve the catalytic efficiency, with the in-situ deposition method used, Melamine and β-Cyclodextrin as raw material, O-C3N4/Ag2O composite photocatalysts with different mass ratios were prepared. The morphology, structure and optical properties of the photocatalysts were analyzed by SEM, TEM, XRD, FT-IR, PL and UV Vis. The photochemical performance of the prepared catalysts was determined by investigating their photodegradation performance of methyl orange and norfloxacin under visible light. The results show that (1) the photocatalytic activity of O-C3N4/Ag2O composite catalyst is more significantly enhanced than that of pure g-C3N4, O-C3N4 and Ag2O; (2) the degradation rates of methyl orange and norfloxacin reach 90.58% and 90.14% respectively after 30 min and 90 min under visible light irradiation; (3) superoxide radical is the main active radical; and (4) the formation of O-C3N4 and Ag2O heterojunction ais beneficial to the degradation of pollutants.