Solvent-induced controllable synthesis of recyclable Ag2CO3 catalysts with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity

Abstract The quest for cost-effective environmental remediation has motivated the research for highly efficient and stable photocatalysts capable of degrading pollutants under visible-light illumination. Ag-based visible-light-responsive photocatalysts demonstrate alluring properties and applications in the elimination of organic pollutants in wastewater, however they often suffer from inherent photo-corrosion under illumination. Herein, we report the facile solution-phase synthesis of silver carbonate (Ag 2 CO 3 ) microcrystals with varied morphological features in different solvents. The size and morphology of Ag 2 CO 3 materials can be tuned on the basis of varying types and ratios of solvents. The specific synthetic method allows the orientation controllable growth of Ag 2 CO 3 microcrystals with variable length-to-diameter ratios, with the surface harvesting more solar energy, and the photocatalyst suppressing the electron-hole recombination. The enhancement in both the photocatalytic activity and photostability of Ag 2 CO 3 catalysts is evident when AgNO 3 and NaHCO 3 are employed as stabilizers. Operating in the presence of 0.02 M stabilizer, the photocatalyst demonstrates highly efficient and robust degradation performance of higher than 95% in 5 successive times towards typical organic dye rhodamine B (RhB). Active holes and reactive oxygen-containing superhydroxyl radicals (·O 2 − ) are determined by trapping experiments to be the main species responsible for improved photocatalytic performance. This work provides new insights into the development of high-performance, recyclable Ag-based photocatalytic materials for energy and environmental applications.