Fabrication of flower-like Ag@AgCl/Bi2WO6 photocatalyst and its mechanism of photocatalytic degradation

• The cube-like Ag@AgCl successfully deposited on the surface of the flower-like Bi2WO6 through hydrothermal treatment and in situ oxidation reaction in a ethanol–water system.
• The contents of Ag@AgCl were considered as an influential factor in the photocatalytic process.
• Investigation of the main reactive species indicates that O2− and h+ play an important role in the photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A.
• A possible plasmonic Z-scheme mechanism of Ag@AgCl/Bi2WO6 composite was also proposed.

A ternary flower-like photocatalyst (Ag@AgCl/Bi2WO6) was successfully synthesized by hydrothermal treatment and in situ oxidation reaction. The as-prepared catalysts were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance UV–vis spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. SEM images show cube-like Ag@AgCl deposits on the surface of the flower-like Bi2WO6. In the photocatalytic experiment, results show that the degradation ratios of bisphenol A with AB-0.2 were 1.81 and 1.33 times higher than those of Bi2WO6 and Ag@AgCl, respectively. The degradation ratio of bisphenol A with Ag@AgCl/Bi2WO6 was nearly 100% within 120 min under visible light. This excellent catalytic ability is mainly attributed to Ag nanoparticle formation and high separation efficiency of the electron-hole pairs on the catalyst surface. Investigation of the main reactive species indicates that O2− and h+ play an important role in the photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A. In addition, a possible plasmonic Z-scheme mechanism of Ag@AgCl/Bi2WO6 composite was proposed.

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