Synthesis and characterization of Sb 3+ -doped Ag/AgCl with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity

Novel Sb3+-doped Ag/AgCl photocatalysts containing different fractions of Sb3+ were synthesized by a simple coprecipitation method and systematically characterized by many techniques. The activity was maximized at the dosage of 2 wt% Sb3+ in methyl orange (MO) photodegradation experiments, and was reserved after three cycles. The photocatalytic activity was decided by the effective separation and low recombination rate of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. The high activities theoretically contributed to the Sb3+-induced formation of chloride dangling bonds and vacancies. The activity of Sb3+-doped Ag/AgCl (2 wt%) maximized to 98% after 14 min, which was much higher than the 50% of pure Ag/AgCl. Electron spin resonance and photoluminescence spectrum showed ·OH was the main active species during the MO oxidation over Sb3+-doped Ag/AgCl.