silver halide/silver iodide@silver composite with excellent visible light photocatalytic activity for methyl orange degradation

• AgBr and AgBr/AgI cubes were synthesized by a double-jet method.
• The charge transfer rate of AgBr/AgI is higher than that of AgBr.
• The AgBr/AgI@Ag shows stronger absorption in the visible region than AgBr@Ag.
• AgBr/AgI@Ag exhibits higher photocatalytic activity than AgBr@Ag and AgBr/AgI.

AgBr/AgI@Ag composite photocatalyst was prepared by a handy multistep route, including controllable double-jet precipitation to synthesize cubic AgBr microcrystals, ion exchange to form AgI on AgBr surface, and visible light reduction to generate Ag nanoparticles. UV–Vis diffuse reflectance and electrochemical impedance spectra demonstrated that AgBr/AgI composite structure not only favors forming more silver nanoparticles to harvest visible light but also facilitates the transfer of charge carriers when compared with pure AgBr. Beneficial from the synergistic effect of highly effective visible light harvest and electron–hole separation, AgBr/AgI@Ag shows higher photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methyl orange (MO) than AgBr, AgBr@Ag, and AgBr/AgBr.

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