Preparation of novel AgBr/Bi3O4Br hybrid with high photocatalytic activity via in situ ion exchange method

AgBr/Bi3O4Br composite was successfully prepared via one-step ionic reaction between Bi3O4Br and AgNO3 solution, and characterized by multi techniques including XRD, Raman, XPS, DRS, PL and transient photocurrent response. Results indicate the synthesized AgBr/Bi3O4Br composite is actually a ternary system of Ag/AgBr/Bi3O4Br, which displays excellent photocatalytic activity in Rhodamine B degradation due to the contribution of AgBr and Ag in charge separation. 5% AgBr/Bi3O4Br composite has the highest photocatalytic efficiency with a degradation rate of 0.032 min−1, which is 2.5 times higher than that of pure Bi3O4Br.