Ag/g-C3N4 catalyst with superior catalytic performance for the degradation of dyes: a borohydride-generated superoxide radical approach

A straightforward approach is developed for fabrication of a visible-light-driven Ag/g-C3N4 catalyst. Morphological observation shows that the g-C3N4 sheets are decorated with highly dispersed Ag nanoparticles having an average size of 5.6 nm. The photocatalytic activity measurements demonstrate that the photocatalytic degradation rates of methyl orange (MO), methylene blue (MB), and neutral dark yellow GL (NDY-GL) over Ag/g-C3N4-4 can reach up to 98.2, 99.3 and 99.6% in the presence of borohydride ions (BH4-) only with 8, 45, and 16 min visible light irradiation, respectively. The significant enhancement in photoactivity of the catalyst is mainly attributed to the high dispersity and smaller size of Ag nanoparticles, the strong surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of metallic Ag nanoparticles, the efficient separation of photogenerated charge carriers, the additional superoxide radicals (O-2(center dot-)) generated from the reduction of dissolved oxygen in the presence of BH4 and the synergistic effect of Ag nanoparticles and g-C3N4.