High-performance photodegradation of norfloxacin enabled by AgI@Ag3PO4 nanostructures

Antibiotics contaminants gradually evolve into one of widely concerned public safety events and attract numerous investigations. In this work, hybrid AgI@Ag 3 PO 4 nanostructures were designed and synthesized for visible-light photodegradation of norfloxacin via facile self-assembly formation strategy method. The well mixed anions here induced good interface contacts and the formation of AgI@Ag 3 PO 4 nanostructures. The experimental results indicated that nanostructured AgI@Ag 3 PO 4 composites showed highly enhanced visible-light photocatalytic performance, and the AgI@Ag 3 PO 4 -15 sample presented the best visible-light photocatalytic performance, which was far better than that of pristine AgI and 2.96 times of pristine Ag 3 PO 4 . These findings were mainly attributed to construction of heterostructure structures between AgI and Ag 3 PO 4 as well as the surface plasmon resonance effects of the generated Ag nanoparticles. Besides, the main active species, possible visible-light photodegradation pathways, and visible-light photocatalytic mechanism were also proposed in detail. Current work indicates an efficient and promising visible-light composite photocatalyst for emerging pollutants degradation.