Abstract
The development of an efficient, cost-effective, and stable visible-light-driven photocatalyst for the photodegradation of organic pollutants is a challenging task. Herein, the synthesis and characterization of a Ag2O-Co3O4 Z-scheme photocatalyst and evaluation of its photocatalytic performance are reported. An aqueous solution of a reactive yellow dye was used as a model organic pollutant. Co3O4 and Ag2O-Co3O4 were synthesized by precipitation and impregnation methods, respectively. Advanced techniques including XRD, DRS-UV-Vis, SEM, TEM, TGA, and XPS were employed for the characterization of the synthesized Ag2O-Co3O4. The prepared materials were tested as a catalyst for the degradation of the reactive yellow dye. It was found that coupling of Ag2O with Co3O4 enhanced the photocatalytic performance from 55 to 100% towards a 50 mL dye solution containing 100 mg L-1 of dye. The rate constant for Ag2O-Co3O4 catalyzed photodegradation of the reactive yellow dye was 2.8 times higher than the rate constant with Co3O4. The dependence of photocatalytic performance on experimental parameters like catalyst dosage, Ag2O content, recycling of the catalyst, and concentration of the dye was also investigated. The as-prepared Ag2O-Co3O4 was found to be an efficient, cost-effective, and stable Z-scheme photocatalyst for the photodegradation of the reactive yellow dye under visible light irradiation.