Synthesis of a visible-light-driven Ag 2 O–Co 3 O 4 Z-scheme photocatalyst for enhanced photodegradation of a reactive yellow dye

The development of an efficient, cost-effective, and stable visible-light-driven photocatalyst for the photodegradation of organic pollutants is a challenging task. Herein, the synthesis and characterization of a Ag 2 O – Co 3 O 4 Z-scheme photocatalyst and evaluation of its photocatalytic performance are reported. An aqueous solution of a reactive yellow dye was used as a model organic pollutant. Co 3 O 4 and Ag 2 O – Co 3 O 4 were synthesized by precipitation and impregnation methods, respectively. Advanced techniques including XRD, DRS-UV-Vis, SEM, TEM, TGA, and XPS were employed for the characterization of the synthesized Ag 2 O – Co 3 O 4 . The prepared materials were tested as a catalyst for the degradation of the reactive yellow dye. It was found that coupling of Ag 2 O with Co 3 O 4 enhanced the photocatalytic performance from 55 to 100% towards a 50 mL dye solution containing 100 mg L −1 of dye. The rate constant for Ag 2 O–Co 3 O 4 catalyzed photodegradation of the reactive yellow dye was 2.8 times higher than the rate constant with Co 3 O 4 . The dependence of photocatalytic performance on experimental parameters like catalyst dosage, Ag 2 O content, recycling of the catalyst, and concentration of the dye was also investigated. The as-prepared Ag 2 O–Co 3 O 4 was found to be an efficient, cost-effective, and stable Z-scheme photocatalyst for the photodegradation of the reactive yellow dye under visible light irradiation.