Ag/AgCl decorated Bi4Ti3O12 nanosheet with highly exposed (001) facets for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B, Carbamazepine and Tetracycline

The Ag/AgCl decorated Bi4Ti3O12 nanosheet with highly exposed (001) facets was successfully synthesized via a facile method and characterized by TEM, SEM, XRD, XPS and DRS. The Bi4Ti3O12 was developed into the layered structure with (001) facets highly exposed and thickness less than 50 nm. The Ag/AgCl nanoparticles less than 10 nm were uniformly decorated on the surface of Bi4Ti3O12 nanosheet. The photocatalytic performance of the photocatalysts was carried out through the decomposition of Rhodamine B, Carbamazepine and Tetracycline aqueous solution under visible-light irradiation. Ag/AgCl/Bi4Ti3O12 nanosheet showed superior photocatalytic activities on all of these organic pollutants. As a result, rate constant of the Ag/AgCl/Bi4Ti3O12 nanosheet is 5.7 times of Bi4Ti3O12 nanosheet for Rhodamine B degradation and 3.4 times for Tetracycline degradation and much higher for Carbamazepine degradation. The synthesized Ag/AgCl/Bi4Ti3O12 nanosheet also exhibited high reusability for the photodegradation reaction. Additionally, a conceivable visible-light photocatalysis mechanism was proposed in detail. The enhancement of photocatalytic performance of the catalyst may be attributed to the synergetic effects the internal electric fields between Bi4Ti3O12 nanosheet and the SPR effect of Ag nanoparticles.