Preparation of Ag@AgI-intercalated K4Nb6O17 composite and enhanced photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B under visible light

• Ag@AgI intercalated K4Nb6O17 was synthesized under microwave irradiation.
• The photocatalyst exhibited high activity for the degradation of RhB.
• A mechanism was proposed to explain the excellent performance for RhB degradation.

In this study, a novel plasmonic photocatalyst, Ag@AgI intercalated layered niobate, was synthesized via a microwave-assisted ion-exchange method. The composite materials prepared were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflection spectra (UV–vis). The as-prepared plasmonic photocatalyst exhibited an enhanced and stable photocatalytic performance for the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) and up to 83% of RhB was degraded in 40 min under visible light irradiation. The mechanism of separation of the photo-generated electrons and holes at the K4Nb6O17/Ag@AgI composite was discussed.

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