Highly efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4@Ag/AgVO3 composites for dye degradation and bacterial inactivation

In this study, g-C3N4@Ag/AgVO3 composite have been successfully synthesized and characterized by XRD, FESEM, TEM, XPS and UV-DRS. Compared with bare g-C3N4, Ag/AgVO3 and g-C3N4@Ag/AgVO3, the as-prepared ternary g-C3N4@Ag/AgVO3 composites exhibit higher photocatalytic activity for RhB degradation under visible light irradiation. Antibacterial experiments reveal that g-C3N4@Ag/AgVO3 composite also displays superior photocatalytic disinfection efficiency and 3.05 log of E. coli are inactivated under 100 min visible light exposure. The greatly improved photocatalytic activities are derived from efficient Z-scheme charge transfer with Ag nanoparticles as charge transmission-bridge. Moreover, after three cycling experiment, the composites maintain high stability and good reusability. It is expected that the Z-scheme photocatalyst could be used in the water treatment for the degradation of organic pollutants and disinfection of bacteria.