Ag2O/TiO2 nanorods heterojunctions as a strong visible-light photocatalyst for phenol treatment

Ag 2 O/TiO 2 nanorods heterojunctions were synthesized by an environmentally benign approach, including hydrothermal treating TiCl 4 aqueous solution for the formation of rutile TiO 2 nanorods and precipitating Ag 2 O quantum dots on the surface of rutile TiO 2 nanorods. The as-obtained Ag 2 O quantum dots were highly uniformly deposited on the surface of rutile TiO 2 rods for the formation Ag 2 O/TiO 2 heterojunctions photocatalyst. Such photocatalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, N 2 adsorption desorption, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activities of the samples were evaluated by phenol under visible-light irradiation. It was found that the optimal Ag:Ti molar ratio (4:10) contributed the highest photocatalytic performance for removing phenol (10 mg/L) with a degradation rate of 66 %, about 11 and 5 times of that of the pure rutile TiO 2 nanorods and N-doped TiO 2 , respectively, after 40 min of reaction under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm). Such greatly enhanced photocatalytic performance of the as-prepared photocatalysts was attributed to the strong Ag 2 O/TiO 2 heterojunctions, 1D rutile TiO 2 architecture, and high visible light absorption capability.