High photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline under visible light with Ag/AgCl/activated carbon composite plasmonic photocatalyst

•Ag/AgCl/AC plasmonic photocatalysts were successfully synthesized using the simple deposition and photoreduction method.•The degradation processes of TC with Ag/AgCl/AC photocatalyst should be better fitted the pseudo first kinetic equation.•The improved photocatalytic activity is mainly due to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) by metallic Ag nanoparticles.

Ag/AgCl/activated carbon (AC) plasmonic photocatalysts were prepared by precipitation and photoreduction method. The as-prepared plasmonic photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM, BET, EDS, UV–vis DRS, XPS and PL. The results show the composite photocatalysts are successfully obtained and obviously exhibit surface plasmon resonance and effectively enhance the separation of h+/e−. The photocatalytic degradation rate of tetracycline (TC) could reach 97.3% in 60 min under visible light irradiation and cycled experiments show stably photocatalytic activities. The active species analysis displays holes and superoxide radicals are the main reactive species. Photocatalytic kinetic indicates that the degradation processes obey pseudo first order kinetic equation.

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