Construction of recoverable Ag2SeO3/Ag3PO4/MWCNT/PVDF porous film photocatalyst with enhanced photocatalytic performance for degrading Indigo carmine dye in continuous flow-loop photoreactor

Herein, a facile method was used for fabrication of composite based on Ag2SeO3 and Ag3PO4-Cube nanoparticles by co-precipitation method and subsequently was applied for construction of film composite by a casting solution containing polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) matrix, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as electron acceptor and carboxymethyl cellulose as a hydrophilic agent and Ag2SeO3/Ag3PO4 as photocatalyst filler via phase inversion technique. The synthesized porous film was used for photo-degradation of indigo carmine (IC) in a continuous flow-loop film photoreactor under LED and sunlight irradiation. The composite properties were described using various analyses such as FE-SEM, EDS, XRD, FTIR, PL and UV-Vis, EIS, Bode phase and water contact angle. The Ag2SeO3/Ag3PO4/MWCNT/PVDF film exhibits extensive photocatalytic activities for IC degradation in comparison to MWCNT/PVDF and Ag2SeO3/Ag3PO4 samples. According to the desirability function at optimum conditions lead to the IC photo-degradation efficiency of was around 97.88%. The enhanced visible light-based photocatalytic performance can be attributed to the high charge separation and the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect for IC photodegradation and experimental results illustrate that superoxide radicals as the main active radicals has high contribution on the IC photo-degradation. The low decrease in photocatalytic activity of the fabricated composite film after five uses makes the sample suitable for applications where reusability is a vital factor.

Automated summary

A composite material based on Ag2SeO3 and Ag3PO4-Cube nanoparticles was fabricated using a co-precipitation method and applied to construct a film composite with enhanced photocatalytic activity. The synthesized porous film exhibited extensive degradation of indigo carmine under LED and sunlight irradiation. The high charge separation and surface plasmon resonance effect were responsible for the enhanced photocatalytic performance.