In situ growth strategy for highly efficient Ag₂CO₃/g-C₃N₄ hetero/nanojunctions with enhanced photocatalytic activity under sunlight irradiation

Developing novel heterojunction photocatalysts is a powerful strategy for improving the separation efficiency of photogenerated charge carriers, which is attracting the intense research interest in photocatalysis. Herein we report a highly efficient hetero/nanojunction consisting of Ag₂CO₃ nanoparticles grown on layered g-C₃N₄ nanosheets synthesized via a facile and template free in situ precipitation method. The UV–vis diffuse reflectance studies revealed that the synthesized Ag₂CO₃/g-C₃N₄ hetero/nanojunctions exhibit a broader and stronger light absorption in the visible light region, which is highly beneficial for absorbing the visible light in the solar spectrum. The optimum photocatalytic activity of Ag₂CO₃/g-C₃N₄ at a weight content of 10% Ag₂CO₃ for the degradation of Rhodamine B was almost 5.5 and 4 times as high as that of the pure Ag₂CO₃ and g-C₃N₄, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the Ag₂CO₃/g-C₃N₄ hetero/nanojunctions is due to synergistic effects including the strong visible light absorption, large specific surface area, and high charge transfer and separation efficiency. More importantly, the high photostability and low use of the noble metal silver which reduces the cost of the material. Therefore, the synthesized Ag₂CO₃/g-C₃N₄ hetero/nanojunction photocatalyst is a promising candidate for energy storage and environment protection applications.