Uniform Ag/AgCl Necklace-Like Nano-Heterostructures: Fabrication and Highly Efficient Plasmonic Photocatalysis

Ag/AgCl necklace-like nano-heterostructures with an average diameter of 55 nm were prepared by a facile in situ oxidation process. As a result of the presence of multiple crystalline Ag nanowires with lots of grain boundaries, uniform Ag/AgCl necklace-like heterostructures can be successfully obtained in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). Ag and AgCl are evenly distributed in the necklace-like structures, which were divided into a number of tiny units that consisted of Ag and AgCl and enabled easy electron transfer. In contrast, a loose Ag/AgCl structure with large particles was prepared without the addition of PVP. A formation mechanism of the Ag/AgCl nano-heterostructures was proposed. Furthermore, the molar ratio of Ag and AgCl plays an important role in the photocatalytic activity of the nano-heterostructures, which can be tuned simply. The results of photocatalytic investigations demonstrate that the Ag/AgCl heterostructures with an 85% AgCl component have an excellent activity for the decomposition of organic pollutants and water splitting to produce oxygen.