Fabrication of AgI-TiO2 loaded on carbon nanofibers and its excellent recyclable and renewable performance in visible-light catalysis

• AgI-TiO2/CNFs were fabricated by electrospinning, solvothermal, and gas/solid oxidation methods.
• The prepared catalysts showed an universal degradation activity in degrading different organic dyes under visible light illumination.
• Due to the 1D structure of CNFs and the synergistic effect among AgI, TiO2, and CNFs, the prepared AgI-TiO2/CNFs possessed the excellent recyclable and renewable performance.

Novel visible-light-driven AgI-TiO2/CNFs hybrid materials were synthesized by a combination of in-situ reduction, electrospinning, solvothermal synthesis, and gas/solid oxidation method. The morphology and chemical components of the as-prepared AgI-TiO2/CNFs were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR). The characterization results indicated that AgI had an intimate connection with both TiO2 and CNFs. The photocatalytic activity of the different catalysts showed that AgI was the dominant photoactive component, while the enhanced photocatalytic activity of AgI-TiO2/CNFs was attributed to the synergic effect between AgI-TiO2 and CNFs, which included the good adsorption ability and electrical conductivity of CNFs as well as the intimate connection among AgI, TiO2, and CNFs. The as-prepared catalysts displayed an universal degradation activity towards methyl orange, acid red 18, sodium fluorescence, and phenol. The recycling tests indicated AgI-TiO2/CNFs had a certain photochemical stability and renewable performance, while the decreased degradation efficiency of MO was attributed to the photodecomposition of AgI. Besides, the as-prepared hybrid materials could be easily separated and reclaimed from the liquid phase due to their 1D structural properties. Moreover, the radical-trapping experiments suggested that h+ and O2− were the major active species in the photocatalytic oxidation of MO and a possible two-satges photocatalytic mechanism of AgI-TiO2/CNFs was also proposed.

AgI-TiO2/CNFs was fabricated by a series of self-assembly methods and applied in degrading different organic dyes under visible light irradiation. The results showed that the prepared catalysts possessed high photocatalytic activity as well as excellent recyclable and renewable performance.Figure optionsDownload high-quality image (334 K)Download as PowerPoint slide