Fabrication of a Plasmonic Heterojunction for Degradation of Oxytetracycline Hydrochloride and Removal of Cr(VI) from Water

Abstract

A novel Ag/Ag2CO3/BiVO4 plasmonic photocatalyst was successfully prepared by depositing Ag nanoparticles on the surface of Ag2CO3/BiVO4 through the photoreduction reaction. Due to the existence of this novel heterojunction photocatalyst structure, not only can it prevent the photogenerated charge recombination, but the unique properties of Ag also have a great advantage in the absorption of light. The Ag/Ag2CO3/BiVO4 photocatalyst showed good catalytic performance in the degradation of oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTH) and removal of Cr6+, and the degradation rate of OTH reached 98.0% after 150 min of illumination. The successful preparation of Ag/Ag2CO3/BiVO4 was confirmed by a series of characterization methods, and the importance of •OH and h+ radicals in the degradation of OTH was demonstrated. In addition, the photocatalytic mechanism of Ag/Ag2CO3/BiVO4 photocatalyst was systematically studied in terms of degradation of OTH and reduction of Cr6+. This study is of great importance for the development of novel plasmonic heterojunction photocatalysts and to meet future environmental requirements.