A novel in-situ synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic performance of Ag/AgI/AgBr/Sulfonated polystyrene heterostructure photocatalyst

Ag/AgI/AgBr/Sulfonated polystyrene heterostructure photocatalyst was synthesised through in-situ ion exchange followed by calcination and light reduction. Field emission scanning electron microscopy, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra and X-ray diffraction were utilized to characterize the morphology, optical absorption property and phase structure of the as-prepared photocatalyst, respectively. By degradation of Rhodamine B under visible light, the Ag/AgI/AgBr/SPs microspheres exhibited a significant enhancement in photocatalytic activity compared with Ag/AgBr and Ag/AgI. Furthermore, the heterojunction formed between AgI and AgBr, and the remarkable visible light absorption attributed to Ag nanoparticles on the surface of AgBr and AgI were considered as the main reasons of the enhancement. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.