Study on photocatalytic activity based on different pH values of AgBr/Ag2CO3 heterojunction

Abstract

Abstract In this work, we fabricate a highly efficient photocatalytic AgBr/Ag2CO3 heterojunction through the co-precipitation method. The obtained samples were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activities of obtained samples can be assessed by visible light (λ ≥ 400 nm) degradation of rhodamine B solution. X-ray diffraction revealed that the crystallinity of the AgBr/Ag2CO3heterojunction was significantly higher than pure AgBr and Ag2CO3. Moreover, the AgBr/ Ag2CO3 heterojunction prepared at pH = 6 has the best photocatalytic performance, it can raise the degradation degree of rhodamine B over 95% at 20 min. Finally, a possible photocatalytic mechanism is discussed.