High performance visible light driven photocatalysts silver halides and graphitic carbon nitride (X = Cl, Br, I) nanocomposites

Novel visible light-driven phtotocatalysts composed by silver halides and graphitic carbon nitride (i.e. AgX@g-C3N4, X = Cl, Br, I) were synthesized by in situ precipitation of AgX nanoparticles on the surface of sheet-like g-C3N4. The resultant AgX@g-C3N4 nanocomposites were characterized with state-of-the-art instruments, showing significant enhancement in photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange under the irradiation of visible light. Their excellent photocatalytic performance is attributed to the efficient separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and their higher photostability in comparison with pure AgX. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.