Plasmonic Ag@AgCl nanotubes fabricated from copper nanowires as high-performance visible light photocatalyst

In this paper, plasmonic photocatalyst Ag@AgCl nanotubes were prepared by a cost-efficient and template-based method and their photocatalytic properties were studied. In the synthesis, copper nanowires were first synthesized and Ag nanotubes were then obtained through the galvanic reaction between copper and Ag ions. The formation of Ag@AgCl nanotubes was finally achieved by in situ oxidation reaction upon the addition of FeCl3. The crystal structure of the product was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction. The morphology and composition of the composite were studied by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. All the structure characterizations showed that the tubulate product was produced by the synthetic processes. By using the obtained product as photocatalyst, the photodegradation of methyl orange (MO) was investigated under visible light. The experimental results showed that the as-prepared Ag@AgCl nanotubes exhibit excellent photocatalytic performance and high stability. Under visible light irradiation, more than 92.58% of the MO dye has been decomposed in 10 min on the product with a 1:1 ratio of Fe/Ag. On the basis of the proposed mechanism, the improved photocatalytic activities of the Ag@AgCl hybrids can be ascribed to the enhanced surface area for dye molecule adsorption, enhanced visible light absorbance, and the efficient charge separation of the hybrid nanostructures.