Synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic performance of Ag/AgCl/TiO2 nanocomposites prepared by ion exchange method

s Ag/AgCl/TiO 2 nanocomposite was synthesized through the combination of sol-gel process and hydrothermal (HT) method followed by ion exchange method in the paper. Transmission electron microscope, UV–vis absorption property and X-ray diffraction were utilized to characterize the morphology, optical absorption property and phase structure of the as-prepared photocatalysts. The morphological and performance studies of Ag/AgCl/TiO 2 revealed that a well-interconnected mixed phase heterojunction photocatalyst was achieved through as-prepared TiO 2 and the subsequent ion exchange method. By the degradation of Rhodamine B under xenon lamp, Ag/AgCl/TiO 2 exhibited a significant enhancement in photocatalytic activity compared with TiO 2 and Ag/TiO 2 . The band gap of Ag/AgCl/TiO 2 can reach to 2.53eV compared with 3.22eV of the prepared TiO 2 . Furthermore, the synthesis process and photoreaction mechanisms of TiO 2 , Ag/TiO 2 and Ag/AgCl/TiO 2 photocatalysts were proposed. It demonstrated that the enhancement of photocatalytic was mainly due to the reducing of electron-hole recombination in Ag/AgCl/TiO 2 .