Enhanced photocatalytic activity and stability of Z-scheme Ag2CrO4-GO composite photocatalysts for organic pollutant degradation

Silver chromate-graphene oxide (Ag2CrO4-GO) composites are prepared by a facile precipitation method. The resulting Ag2CrO4-GO composites exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity and stability towards the degradation of the dyes and phenol in aqueous solution under visible-light irradiation. The optimal composite with 1.0 wt% GO content shows the highest photocatalytic activity for methylene blue (MB) degradation, which is 3.5 times that of pure Ag2CrO4 particles. The enhanced photocatalytic activity is mainly attributed to the formation of Ag2CrO4-GO Z-scheme heterojunction that can not only facilitate the separation and transfer of the photogenerated charge carriers, but also preserve a strong oxidation and reduction ability. The high photocatalytic stability is due to the successful inhibition of the photocorrosion of Ag2CrO4 by transferring the photogenerated electrons of Ag2CrO4 to GO. The present work provides a new understanding into design and fabrication of the GO/silver compound composite photocatalysts. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.