One-pot sequential synthesis of magnetically separable Fe3O4/AgCl photocatalysts with enhanced activity and stability

Magnetically separable Fe3O4/AgCl photocatalysts were prepared by a one-pot sequential method. A series of techniques proved the hybrid structure of Fe3O4/AgCl composites. Fe3O4/AgCl composites had a much higher photocatalytic activity toward Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation than pure AgCl under the simulated solar light irradiation. The existence of metal Ag resulted in high photocatalytic activity of Fe3O4/AgCl, which was related with the amount of metallic Ag. The scavenging experiments showed that the degradation reaction most probably was initiated by the photoinduced single-electron transfer, and the generation of superoxide anion (O2-·) played a significant role. The composite photocatalysts could be recycled by applying an external magnetic field, and the reused composites maintained their original photocatalytic activity. Fe3O4/AgCl composites were highly efficient, magnetically separable, and recoverable. This proves their potential applications in the photodegradation of organic pollutants.