Synergic action of bamboo-cellulose-supported hydrogen-bonded nano-AgBr for robust photocatalysis

A novel semiconductor photocatalyst was developed using bamboo cellulose fibers (BCFs) embedded with nano-AgBr (AgBr@BCFs) via a simple and rapid method. BCFs prevented the agglomeration of AgBr and provided numerous active reaction sites as a dispersant and structural support. The photocatalytic activity of AgBr@BCFs in removing organic pollutants was investigated and the endogenous factors leading to the high activity were analyzed through a combination of a series of experiments, characterizations and theoretical calculations. We propose that the efficient photocatalytic performance of AgBr@BCFs was attributed to the interface integration facilitated by hydrogen bonds and robust electronic interactions. The interface demonstrated a significantly negative reduction potential (−0.57 eV), enhancing carrier transport efficiency and inhibiting the recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. Compared to the intrinsic activity of AgBr, AgBr@BCFs exhibits 7.2 times higher performance for Rhodamine B and 8.6 times greater intensity for tetracycline (TC). Additionally, the applicability of the photocatalyst across various pH ranges, photocorrosion resistance, and recyclability were evaluated. The mechanism of the photocatalytic process revealed that the synergistic bifunctionality of high adsorption rate and strong degradation activity is the primary reason for the high activity. BCFs-based semiconductor material can be recycled efficiently, which is a promising photocatalyst for the purification of organic sewage. In this study, we extracted pure cellulose from bamboo by physical and chemical treatment, bamboo cellulose fibers (BCFs) were employed as both the solid dispersion and structural carrier for AgBr. Through an in-situ generation method, hydrogen-bond-bridged AgBr@BCFs photocatalysts were successfully prepared. The results showed that bamboo cellulose effectively mitigated the agglomeration and photocorrosion behavior of silver bromide as a carrier and confluent electron mediator. The particle size of AgBr was reduced to the nanoscale, and the photocatalysts exhibited remarkable adsorption efficiency and degradation activity toward the organic dye pollutants (RhB and TC). AgBr@BCFs has a 7.3-fold increase in intrinsic activity compared to AgBr. [Display omitted] •Nano-AgBr was rapidly and easily prepared using BCFs as a dispersion and structural carrier.•We augment the photocatalytic efficacy of the photocatalyst by a factor of 7.3 to 8.6 and as