Preparation, characterization, and photocatalytic properties of silver carbonate

► Silver carbonate (Ag2CO3) nanorods were prepared using a precipitation method. ► The results of DRS suggested that the optical transition of Ag2CO3 was indirectly allowed, and its band gap was determined to be 2.08 eV. ► The prepared Ag2CO3 displayed a high activity towards degradation of phenol and MB under visible light. ► In addition, Ag2CO3 displayed enhanced photocatalytic activities for the destruction of E. coli due to its photogenerated electron-hole pairs.