A Novel In-Situ Synthesis and Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance of Z-Scheme Ag/AgI/AgBr/Sulfonated Polystyrene Heterostructure Photocatalyst

Novel Z-scheme Ag/AgI/AgBr/sulfonated polystyrene composite is prepared via ion-exchange followed by light reduction. The photocatalytic activities of as-synthesized samples are evaluated through the degradation of methyl orange (RhB) under visible light irradiation. The Z-scheme Ag/AgI/AgBr/SPs photocatalysts display excellent photocatalytic activity and stability compared with Ag/AgI and Ag/AgBr. The improved photocatalytic activity is mainly due to the combined effects of the Z-scheme structure of Ag/AgI/AgBr/SPs and the strong surface plasmon resonance effect of Ag 0 nanoparticles. Moreover, after four successive cycles, the Ag/AgI/AgBr/SPs photocatalysts have no obvious loss of activity for the degradation of RhB, illustrating that the Z-scheme Ag/AgI/AgBr/SPs photocatalysts are rather stable under visible-light irradiation.