Facile construction for new core-shell Z-scheme photocatalyst GO/AgI/Bi2O3 with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity

Abstract Heterojunction formation and morphology control have always been regarded as effective ways to improve the performance of visible-light-driven photocatalysts. In this study, a new facile strategy was applied to synthesize the Z-scheme GO/AgI/Bi2O3 heterojunction, where polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) and γ-methacryloxypropyl trimethoxy silane (KH-570) were used to modulate the morphologies. Methyl orange and tetracycline hydrochloride were chosen as target contaminants to evaluate the photocatalytic properties of samples and the results revealed that 2% GO/AgI/Bi2O3 exhibited the best photocatalytic performance under visible-light irradiation. The enhanced photocatalytic activity can mainly attribute to Z-scheme heterojunction formed by the deposing of AgI and GO as well as the sufficient heterogeneous interfaces resulted from the improved morphology, which have effectively promoted the separation and transfer of electron-hole pairs. To deeply realize the enhanced performance of GO/AgI/Bi2O3 photocatalysts, the reaction kinetics, trapping experiments and photocatalytic mechanism were deduced.