Abstract
Herein, Ag-anchored Bi2O3/g-C3N4 based Z-scheme photocatalyst was prepared using facile hydrothermal approach for photocatalytic degradation of imidacloprid pesticide (IMP). Graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) nanocomposites were fabricated via thermal polycondensation and Ag-anchored Bi2O3/g-C3N4 (Ag-BO/GCN) via single-step hydrothermal method, respectively. The spectral analysis such as XRD, SEM, TEM, IR, PL, UV and XPS and BET were performed to investigate physicochemical properties of Ag-BO/GCN. The enhanced catalytic performance of Ag-BO/GCN was benefited from complimentary transport and separation efficacy of photogenerated electron-hole pairs via Z scheme pathway. The synthesized Ag-BO/GCN exhibited remarkable imidacloprid degradation (93%) than Ag-BO and GCN. The complete mineralization was attainted in 10 h under visible light irradiation. The improved photocatalytic activity of Ag-BO/GCN composites was credited to suitable band alignment between GCN and BO as well as presence of Ag (0) that acted as electron mediator thereby suppressing recombination between photoinduced charge carriers. The photocatalytic degradation of IMP followed pseudo-first order kinetics. The significant recyclability and stability of Ag-BO/GCN was observed for 10 catalytic cycles.