AgI-modified TiO2 supported by PAN nanofibers: A heterostructured composite with enhanced visible-light catalytic activity in degrading MO

• A highly visible-light responsive AgITiO2/PAN composite had been successfully synthesized.
• AgITiO2/PAN were presented in membrane forms, showed a highly photocatalytic activity in degrading MO.
• The as-prepared composites had an excellent stability and photostability in the photocatalytic cycling tests.

A highly visible-light responsive AgITiO2/PAN had been successfully synthesized by the electrospinning technique, hydrogenation reduction, solvothermal synthesis, and gas/solid oxidation. The component and morphology of the as-prepared catalysts were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). In the degradation experiments, the as-prepared AgITiO2/PAN showed a highly photocatalytic activity in degrading methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation and the AgI content had a strong effect in their photocatalytic activity. Moreover, the degradation efficiency of MO over AgITiO2/PAN was much higher as compared to that of pure PAN, AgI/PAN and TiO2/PAN, which was attributed to the synergistic effect between AgI and TiO2. Besides, AgITiO2/PAN had an excellent stability in the cycling tests due to the intimate connect and stable heterostructure of AgITiO2. It’s astonished to find that the application of PAN nanofibers, which presented in membranous form, made it easy separate the catalysts from an aqueous solution without any loss.