Degradation of Orange G and Trypan blue using Ag2C2O4/Ag/g-C3N4 composites as efficient photocatalyst under solar irradiation

A novel direct Z-scheme Ag2C2O4/Ag/g-C3N4 photocatalytic system with different weight of Ag was synthesized based on precipitation method and subsequently demonstrate exceptional application for degradation of Orange G(OG) and Trypan blue (TB). The as-prepared Ag2C2O4/Ag/g-C3N4 composites were characterized by various techniques including XRD, FE-SEM, FTIR, BET, UV-vis, EDS and mapping elements. The Ag2C2O4/Ag/g-C3N4 nocomposite illustrates higher photocatalytic activities for OG and TB degradation with respect to single Ag2C2O4 or g-C(3)N(4 )The optimal photocatalyst Ag2C2O4/Ag/g-C3N4 (ACN6) could dramatically decompose of OG and TB under solar irradiation, which showed a degradation rate of 0.0339 min(-1) and 0.031 min(-1) (for OG and TB) and higher than that of pure g-C3N4 and Ag/Ag2C2O4 spectively. The radical quenching experiments were used to investigate mechanism for dye degradation processes. Furthermore, the enhanced photocatalytic performance of Ag2C2O4/Ag/g-C3N4 could be explained by a Z-scheme photocatalytic system. The present mechanism was attributed to the efficient space separation of photo-generated carriers and the high oxidation and reduction of the Ag2C2O4/Ag/g-C3N4 system.