Organic–inorganic hybrid photocatalyst g-C3N4/Ag2CO3 with highly efficient visible-light-active photocatalytic activity

Novel g-C3N4/Ag2CO3 organic–inorganic hybrid photocatalysts have been prepared by a facile in situ precipitation route. The crystal structure and optical property of the as-prepared samples have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and diffuse reflection spectroscopy (DRS). The photocatalytic experiments indicated that the as-prepared g-C3N4/Ag2CO3 photocatalyst exhibited significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity than the pure g-C3N4 and Ag2CO3 samples toward degrading methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm). A possible photocatalytic mechanism was proposed based on the photoluminescence (PL) spectra, photocurrent spectra and a series of radical trapping experiments. The remarkably improved photocatalytic performance should be ascribed to the heterostructure between Ag2CO3 and g-C3N4, which greatly promoted the photoinduced charge transfer and inhibited the recombination of electrons and holes.