Graphene supported silver@silver chloride & ferroferric oxide hybrid, a magnetically separable photocatalyst with high performance under visible light irradiation

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • The composites were synthesized via a facile and effective process. • Plenty of Fe₃O₄ and Ag@AgCl nanoparticles are deposited on the reduced graphene oxide nanosheets. • The catalyst exhibited an enhanced photocatalytic performance and magnetic property. • The catalyst is stable under the visible light irradiation. - Abstract: A stable magnetic separable plasmonic photocatalyst was successfully fabricated by grafting silver@silver chloride (Ag@AgCl) and ferroferric oxide (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles on graphene sheets. The composite exhibited high activity degrading methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RB) under visible light irradiation: decomposition 97.4% of MB in 100 min and 97.9% of RB in 120 min. The enhanced photocatalytic activities can be attributed to synergistic effect between Ag@AgCl and graphene: the effective charge transfer from Ag@AgCl to graphene thus promotes the separation of electron–hole pairs. Moreover, the excellent magnetic property gives a more convenient way to recycle the photocatalysts