Surface plasmon effect combined with S-scheme charge migration in flower-like Ag/Ag6Si2O7/Bi12O17Cl2 enables efficient photocatalytic antibiotic degradation

A flower-like Ag/Ag6Si2O7/Bi12O17Cl2 plasmonic S-scheme heterojunction with is synthesized via a simple route. Under the synergistic cooperation of S-scheme heterostructure, and plasmonic effect, Ag/Ag6Si2O7/Bi12O17Cl2 exhibits exceptional photocatalytic properties toward antibiotic destruction under visible light irradiation. [Display omitted] •A plasmonic S-scheme heterojunction of Ag/Ag6Si2O7/Bi12O17Cl2 was synthesized.•Ag/Ag6Si2O7/Bi12O17Cl2 manifests superb photo-activity for antibiotic removal.•The photocatalytic mechanism, antibiotic degradation process and toxicities are analyzed.•The combination of S-scheme junction and plasmonic effect accounts for the reinforced catalytic performance. Developing robust photocatalysts for photocatalytic environment decontamination is significant and challenging. A novel flower-like S-scheme Ag/Ag6Si2O7/Bi12O17Cl2 (AASO/BOC) plasmonic heterojunction is successfully constructed using a facile route, and applied in photocatalytic destruction of tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) and levofloxacin (LEV) under visible-light irradiation. Benefiting from the combination of S-scheme Bi12O17Cl2/Ag6Si2O7 heterojunction and the plasma Ag, the production and separation of photogenerated carriers are dramatically enhanced. Consequently, compared to the pristine Bi12O17Cl2 and Ag6Si2O7, AASO/BOC displays superior photocatalytic degradation performance. Impressively, the photocatalytic TC degradation rate of AASO/BOC-2 reaches 0.0260 min−1, which is approximately 3.1, 14.4 and 2.0 times those of Bi12O17Cl2, Ag6Si2O7 and Bi12O17Cl2/Ag6Si2O7, respectively. Moreover, the photocatalytic mechanism of TC degradation is studied in depth via various techniques, and the photogenerated OH, O2− and h+ collectively contribute to the photo-degradation of TC. This research puts forward a neoteric approach to designing plasmonic S-scheme photocatalysts for environmental applications.