One-pot synthesis of novel Ag–AgBr@HHSS with superior visible photocatalytic activity

• Ag–AgBr was encapsulated in novel mesoporous hierarchical hollow silica sphere.
• The Ag–AgBr@HHSS can be synthesized by a one-pot method.
• The Ag–AgBr@HHSS has hierarchical mesoporous hollow structure.
• The Ag–AgBr@HHSS shows enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light.

A novel visible light response Ag–AgBr@HHSS photocatalyst (Ag–AgBr encapsulated in hierarchical hollow silica spheres) was synthesized by a facile one-pot method using CTAB as template. The as-synthesized photocatalyst was characterized by techniques of XRD, SEM, EDS, TEM, N2 adsorption–desorption analysis and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectra. Structural characterization indicated that the as-synthesized Ag–AgBr@HHSS photocatalyst possessed a small-hollow-sphere@big-hollow-sphere structure with a diameter of 90–150 nm and a high specific surface area of 540 m2/g. The Ag–AgBr nanoparticles with average crystallite size of 7.5 nm were encapsulated dispersedly in the HHSS matrix. The photocatalytic activity of the photocatalyst was investigated by the degradation of methyl orange under visible light irradiation. Due to its smaller Ag–AgBr particle size and special hollow structure, the Ag–AgBr@HHSS showed higher photocatalytic activity than Ag–AgBr/MCM-41. The Ag–AgBr@HHSS exhibited good reusability and maintained more than 93% of the initial photocatalytic activity even after 5 runs of recycling.

A novel visible light response Ag–AgBr@HHSS photocatalyst (Ag–AgBr encapsulated in hierarchical hollow silica spheres) was successfully synthesized for the first time. The Ag–AgBr nanoparticles were dispersed well in hierarchical hollow silica sphere matrix. Compared with Ag–AgBr/MCM-41, the Ag–AgBr@HHSS showed enhanced photocatalytic activity during the photocatalytic degradation of MO.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide