Short communicationA simple method to prepare g-C3N4/Ag-polypyrrole composites with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity

•The formation process of g-C3N4/Ag-PPy was very simple.•The merits of Ag and PPy in photocatalysis were combined together in g-C3N4/Ag-PPy.•The rate constant was evaluated and photocatalysts showed superior photoactivity.•The photocatalysts showed good reusability and stability even after five cycles.•The photocatalytic mechanism was investigated in detail.

g-C3N4/Ag-polypyrrole (PPy) visible-light photocatalysts were prepared in a simple way, in which g-C3N4 was decorated with Ag nanoparticles, and covered by PPy layer. Their photoactivity was evaluated by degradation of rhodamine B. Compared with g-C3N4, g-C3N4/Ag and g-C3N4/PPy, the enhanced photocatalytic activity was obtained and explained according to the improvement of visible-light absorption and reduction of recombination between photogenerated electron-hole pairs with the help of Ag nanoparticles and PPy. Their reusability was evaluated by recycling experiments. The structures and chemical compositions before and after photocatalytic degradation were compared. Moreover, a possible photocatalytic mechanism was discussed in detail.

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