Highly efficient visible-light-driven plasmonic photocatalysts based on graphene oxide-hybridized one-dimensional Ag/AgCl heteroarchitectures

Abstract

In this paper, we report that one-dimensional (1D) Ag/AgCl nanostructures could be facilely fabricated by means of an oxidation-chloridization process, wherein prefabricated 1D Ag nanowires are employed as a template. Graphene oxide (GO)-hybridized 1D Ag/AgCl nanocomposites, Ag/AgCl/GO, could also be easily formulated when GO nanosheets are involved during the oxidation-chloridization procedure. We find that compared with the parent plain 1D Ag nanowires, commercially available P25-TiO₂, and spherical Ag/AgCl nanospecies, the as-produced 1D Ag/AgCl nanostructures could be used as high-performance visible-light-driven plasmonic photocatalysts for the photodegradation of organic pollutants. Moreover, the 1D Ag/AgCl/GO nanocomposites exhibit enhanced photocatalytic activity compared with the corresponding 1D Ag/AgCl nanostructures. Our experimental facts indicate that the cooperative or synergistic effects between the intrinsic morphological features of the 1D nanostructures, which facilitates an efficient directional electron transport and suppresses the scattering of the free electrons, and the advantages brought out by GO nanosheets, which favors a nice adsorption of methyl orange (MO) molecules and an efficient charge separation, conjointly contribute to the enhanced photocatalytic performance of the 1D Ag/AgCl/GO nanocomposites. This work might initiate new and more varied opportunities for the development of visible-light-driven high-performance plasmonic photocatalysts for the photodegradation of organic pollutants.