Ag₃BiO₃/g-C₃N₄ Nanocomposite As Efficient Visible-Light Photocatalyst for Degradation of Methyl Orange

A novel Z-scheme Ag₃BiO₃/g-C₃N₄ composites were synthesized by a hydrothermal reaction method. The composition, structure and optical property of as-prepared catalysts were characterized by XRD, DRS, FT-IR, SEM, EDS, PL spectra. Compared with pure g-C₃N₄ and pure Ag₃BiO₃, the Ag₃BiO₃/g-C₃N₄ composites show enhanced photocatalytic activity (degradation efficiency was ~78% within 180 min) in photodegrading methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation. Combining with the scavenger experiment results, we found the superoxide radicals (${}^{\bullet }{\text{O}}_2^{-}$) and the holes (h⁺) were dominant active radical in the degradation of MO. Furthermore, we put forward a possible mechanism, a direct Z-scheme heterojunction between Ag₃BiO₃ and g-C₃N₄, with the photocatalytic activity results shown that the performance of Z-scheme Ag₃BiO₃/g-C₃N₄ composites were dependent on the content of g-C₃N₄.