Construction and full-spectrum catalytic performance of multilevel Ag/Bi/nitrogen vacancy g-C3N4/Ti3C2Tx Schottky junction

The multilevel Ag/Bi/Nv-g-C3N4/Ti3C2Tx (Nv-g-C3N4: nitrogen vacancy-g-C3N4) Schottky junction was prepared via an in-situ solvothermal reaction. The phase composition and crystal structure, micromorphology and pore structure, surface elemental composition and chemical state, and optical and photoelectrochemical properties were characterized. The prepared Ag/Bi/Nv-g-C3N4/Ti3C2Tx exhibited full-spectrum absorption characteristics owing to the synergistic surface plasmon resonance effect between Ag, Bi, and Ti3C2Tx. Moreover, the Schottky junction was formed through the interface polarization charge transfer driven by carrier concentration difference, resulting in the markedly improved separation efficiency and utilization of photogenerated carriers (including hot electrons and hot holes). Consequently, in comparison to Nv-g-C3N4, Ti3C2Tx, Ag/Nv-g-C3N4, Bi/Nv-g-C3N4, and Ag/Bi/Nv-g-C3N4, Ag/Bi/Nv-g-C3N4/Ti3C2Tx showed significantly enhanced full-spectrum-driven photocatalytic activity, and the reaction rate constants for photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline under visible light and near-infrared light irradiation could reach 0.033 and 0.008 6 min(-1), respectively, which were approximately 10-2.1 times and 8.6-1.8 times higher than those of contract samples.