Photocatalytic Application of TiO2–AgI Hybrid for Degradation of Organic Pollutants in Water

Herein, we synthesized AgI–TiO2 hybrid photocatalyst by the sonochemical method. The as-produced hybrid was characterized by using XRD, FESEM, EDS, DRS and PL. The AgI–TiO2 hybrid possessed high photocatalytic properties. The photocatalytic performance of AgI–TiO2 hybrid was studied on photodegradation of Acid Orange 7 (AO7). The hybrid with 25 wt% AgI showed enhanced photocatalytic degradation (95%) compared to pure TiO2 (61%) and AgI (53%). According to our results, on increasing the weight ratio of AgI from 0.5 to 25 wt%, photodegradation was increased from 38 to 95%, but on increasing the weight ratio of AgI from 25 to 75 wt%, photodegradation was decreased from 95 to 25%. So, the weight ratio of AgI is a crucial factor in photodegradation of AO7. On the other hand, ultrasound irradiation had crucial effect on the photocatalytic efficiency of the as-prepared hybrid.