Rational design of Ag@AgCl/g-C₃N₄/zeolite composite with significantly enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity...

In the case of increasingly scarce global energy resources and worsening environmental problems, it is particularly important to explore effective ways to alleviate the environmental and energy crises. In this paper, a ternary Ag@AgCl/g-C₃N₄/zeolite photocatalyst was prepared for effective degradation of tetracycline (TC) and H₂ production under visible light. Under visible light irradiation, the Ag@AgCl/g-C₃N₄/zeolite-25 photocatalyst demonstrates a remarkable degradation efficiency of 97.2 % for TC in 120 min and the maximum H₂ production rate with 962.9 μmol h^-1•g^-1 which is 13.0 and 4.5 times that of g-C₃N₄ and Ag@AgCl. The significant improvement of photocatalytic activity is mainly attributed to the construction of Ag@AgCl/g-C₃N₄ heterojunction, the introduction of zeolite carrier with good dispersion effect and the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of Ag particles in composite. Furthermore, the degradation process of TC was investigated using three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy (3D EEM). The intermediate product was characterized using HPLC-MS analysis, and a degradation pathway for TC was proposed. The toxicity of the intermediate product was assessed using the TEST method. Moreover, a detailed reaction mechanism was proposed. This work provides a promising catalyst and a new strategy for efficient photocatalytic H₂ evolution and wastewater treatment based on the construction of plasmonic heterojunction structure on mineral carrier.