Co3O4–Ag photocatalysts for the efficient degradation of methyl orange. Issue 26 (17th April 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chen, Hongmei; Xue, Chenyang; Cui, Danfeng; Liu, Maoxing; Chen, Yi; Li, Yuankai; Zhang, Wendong
• Is Part Of: RSC advances. Volume 10:Issue 26(2020)
• Page Start: 15245
• Page End: 15251
• Publication Date: 2020-04-17
• Subjects: Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540.5
• DOI: 10.1039/c9ra10437b
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2046-2069

Abstract

Abstract : A novel Co3 O4 –Ag catalyst covered on the Ni foam substrate was synthesized via facile hydrothermal and in situ photoreduction methods for the efficient degradation of methyl orange. Abstract : In this paper, a series of Co3 O4 –Ag photocatalysts with different Ag loadings were synthesized by facile hydrothermal and in situ photoreduction methods and fully characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, FTIR spectroscopy, XPS, UV-vis and PL techniques. The catalysts were used for the degradation of methyl orange (MO). Compared with the pure Co3 O4 catalyst, the Co3 O4 –Ag catalysts showed better activity; among these, the Co3 O4 –Ag-0.3 catalyst demonstrated the most efficient activity with 96.4% degradation efficiency after 30 h UV light irradiation and high degradation efficiency of 99.1% after 6 h visible light irradiation. According to the corresponding dynamics study under UV light irradiation, the photocatalytic efficiency of Co3 O4 –Ag-0.3 was 2.72 times higher than that of Co3 O4 under identical reaction conditions. The excellent photocatalytic activity of Co3 O4 –Ag can be attributed to the synergistic effect of strong absorption under UV and visible light, reduced photoelectron and hole recombination rate, and decreased band gap due to Ag doping. Additionally, a possible reaction mechanism over the Co3 O4 –Ag photocatalysts was proposed and explained.