Codeposition of AgI and Ag2CrO4 on g-C3N4/Fe3O4 nanocomposite: Novel magnetically separable visible-light-driven photocatalysts with enhanced activity

- Novel g-C3N4/Fe3O4/AgI/Ag2CrO4 nanocomposites were prepared using a facile method.
- The g-C3N4/Fe3O4/AgI/Ag2CrO4 (20%) exhibited highest activity in degradation of RhB.
- Activity of this nanocomposite is very higher than its counterparts.
- The nanocomposite could be recovered by an applied magnetic field.

The objective of this research was preparation of magnetically separable visible-light-driven photocatalysts by codeposition of AgI and Ag2CrO4 on g-C3N4/Fe3O4 nanocomposite. The as-prepared materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive analysis of X-rays, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometry. The g-C3N4/Fe3O4/AgI/Ag2CrO4 nanocomposite with 20% of Ag2CrO4 exhibited highest activity in degradation of RhB under visible light. Photocatalytic activity of this nanocomposite is nearly 15, 2, and 3-folds higher than those of the g-C3N4/Fe3O4, g-C3N4/Fe3O4/AgI (20%), and g-C3N4/Fe3O4/Ag2CrO4 (20%) samples, respectively. It was found that photocatalytic activity of this nanocomposite can be engineered by variation of preparation time and calcination temperature. Also the effect of scavengers of the reactive species on photocatalytic activity was investigated. Finally, it was shown that the nanocomposite is highly stable and can be used repeatedly without obvious deactivation under the light irradiation.

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