Recently, Ag/AgCl has been widely researched by various methods and used as photocatalyst to degrade organic dyes due to its excellent photocatalytic properties under visible light. In this paper, a novel visible-light-driven plasmonic photocatalyst Ag/AgCl@ZIF-8 was successfully prepared by depositing AgCl nanoparticles into the ZIF-8 crystals, and then reducing partial Ag + ions of AgCl nanoparticles to Ag 0 species under UV light irradiation. All as-synthesized samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, BET and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectra. The photocatalytic activity of all as-synthesized samples was evaluated by degradation RhB solution under visible light irradiation. The results show that AgCl nanoparticles are well dispersed and inlaid in the body of ZIF-8 crystals, and partial Ag + ions of AgCl nanoparticles are reduced into Ag 0 species after 30 min of UV light irradiation.The as-synthesized Ag/AgCl@ZIF-8 keeps the high surface area of ZIF-8 and holds the excellent photo-properties of Ag/AgCl. The photocatalytic activity of all as-synthesized sample were evaluated by degradation RhB solution under visible light irradiation. Ag/AgCl@ZIF-8 exhibited the highest photocatalystic activity, which could degrade 99.12% RhB. The synergistic effect of Ag/AgCl and ZIF-8 makes Ag/AgCl@ZIF-8 possible to be used for the degradation of organic dye by using sunlight.
The presence of acetaminophen (ACT) used for painkillers has attracted great attention in the world, which have potentially adverse effects on aquatic lives and human beings. Advanced oxidation technology applied to water repair has received increasing concerns in recent years. In this study, photodegradation ACT in aqueous solution over Ag/AgCl@ZIF-8 synthesised by a simple stirring method was investigated under visible light irradiation. The prepared photocatalyst was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-vis). The degradation rates of ACT under different parameters were studied to get the optimal operating conditions in water. Results showed that the photodegradation process fitted pseudo-first order model well. 99% ACT degradation achieved when Ag/AgCl@ZIF-8 was delivered to the solution compared with ZIF-8 and Ag/AgCl with the maximum value of constant ( k app ). The degradation rate obviously slowed down when the initial concentration of ACT increased to 2 mg/L while it increased with the increasing of dosage of photocatalyst. In contrast, pH has little effect on the degradation of ACT over Ag/AgCl@ZIF-8. The Ag/AgCl@ZIF-8 showed high efficiency for degradation after three repeated cycles which demonstrated the prepared photocatalyst has high stability. The O 2 − turned out to be the main active group during the photodegradation process responsible for the disappearance of ACT. Intermediate products analysis results by LC-MS showed that photolysis was the first step of photocatalytic degradation for ACT followed by a ring cleavage.
Shu-Tao Gao,Wei-Hua Liu,Ning-Zhao Shang,Cheng Feng,Qiu-Hua Wu,Zhi Wang,Chun Wang
Efficient utilization of solar energy has received tremendous attention due to the increasing environmental and energy concerns. In this paper, a plasmonic photocatalyst integrated with metal–organic framework (MOF) material, Ag/AgCl@ZIF-8, was fabricated for the first time. The unique hetero-junction structure of Ag/AgCl@ZIF-8 greatly enhanced its photocatalytic activity. Selecting RhB as a model pollutant, 98% of RhB can be degraded after 16 min under solar radiation. The relationship between the photocatalytic activity and the structure of Ag/AgCl@ZIF-8 hybrid materials was discussed and the possible reaction mechanism was proposed. The high photocatalytic activity of the hybrid material under solar radiation revealed its great application potential in directly harvesting solar energy to solve the environmental pollution issues.