High proficiency Ag/β-Ag 2 WO 4 /V 3 O 4 /g-C 3 N 4 heterojunction photocatalyst for the actuation of C(OH)–H bond

One of the important procedures to enhance the activity of semiconductors as a catalyst is the fabrication of Ag-based semiconductors with a large bandgap energy. Here, a novel Ag/β-Ag 2 WO 4 /V 3 O 4 /g-C 3 N 4 heterojunction photocatalyst was synthesized by a solvothermal method. The heterojunction structure was characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, DRS, FE-SEM, XRD, PL, and EDS techniques. The photo-ability of V 3 O 4 , V 3 O 4 /g-C 3 N 4 , and Ag/β-Ag 2 WO 4 /V 3 O 4 /g-C 3 N 4 toward the actuation of C(OH)–H bond was investigated using a visible lamp. The prepared photocatalyst illustrated impressive activity compared to pure V 3 O 4 and V 3 O 4 /g-C 3 N 4 , which was 67% under aerobic environments due to the considerable separation of the photogenerated charge pairs and enhanced active sites after the incorporation of nanoparticles. Accordingly, this catalyst should be introduced as a qualified photocatalyst, because of its activity, selectivity, and stability.