Ag-AgBr nanoparticles loaded on TiO2 nanofibers as an efficient heterostructured photocatalyst driven by visible light

• The Ag-AgBr/TiO2 heterostructured nanofibers possess the superior photocatalytic activity than the pure TiO2 and Ag-AgBr power because of the surface plasmon resonance effect of Ag nanoparticles and the synergetic effects among the three components of Ag, AgBr and TiO2.
• This sort of photocatalyst is stable and recycable.
• The Ag-AgBr/TiO2 nanofibers should be a facile and promising materials for environmental remediation.

A novel photocatalyst Ag-AgBr/TiO2 heterostructured nanofibers was fabricated by means of combining solvothermal technique with photoreduction method based on the electrospun TO2 nanofibers support. And, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–vis spectrophotometer (UV–vis), and photoluminescence (PL) measurements were used to characterize the structure, morphology, and properties of the as-prepared photocatalysts. Further, the photocatalytic activity of photocatalysts was tested by degrading methylene blue dye under visible light. As a result, the photocatalytic activity of the Ag-AgBr/TiO2 heterostructured nanofibers is far superior to that of TiO2 nanofibers and Ag-AgBr power, which could be attributed to the surface plasmon resonance effect of Ag nanoparticles and the synergetic effect between the three components of Ag, AgBr and TiO2. Significantly, the stability and recycling of the photocatalyst was also investigated. The possible mechanism related to the photocatalytic performance of the Ag-AgBr/TiO2 heterostructured nanofibers was also gone deep into discuss.

Ag-AgBr/TiO2 heterostructured nanofibers was fabricated via combining solvothermal technique with photoreduction method based on TO2 nanofibers matrix. This sort of photocatalyst was used for efficient treatment of wastewater containing methylene blue.Figure optionsDownload high-quality image (215 K)Download as PowerPoint slide