One-pot synthesis and improved photocatalytic performance of Ag10Si4O13/N-CeO2 composites

Novel Ag10Si4O13/N-CeO2 composite photocatalysts were synthesized by a facile one-pot method. XRD, SEM, EDS, and UV-Vis DRS were employed to characterize the structures of the samples. Moreover, the degradation activity of methyl violet (MV) was used to measure the photocatalytic performances of Ag10Si4O13, N-CeO2, and the Ag10Si4O13/N-CeO2 composites. It was found that ASO-10 (the Ag10Si4O13/N-CeO2 composite with 10 mg N-CeO2) showed the highest photocatalytic activity in the degradation of MV, and the enhanced photocatalytic performance is attributed to an improvement in the separation efficiency of photoproduced electron-hole pairs. Effects of operational parameters, such as initial pH, catalyst dosage, initial dye concentration, anions and cations, have also been considered for better practical applications. In addition, the photocatalytic mechanism of the Ag10Si4O13/N-CeO2 composites is also proposed.