Photochemical conversion of AgCl nanocubes to hybrid AgCl–Ag nanoparticles with high activity and long-term stability towards photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes

The performance of a photocatalytic reaction is mainly determined by the quality of the photocatalyst. For real applications, significantly enhancing the stability and activity of the photocatalysts still remains a challenge for materials scientists and chemists. In this paper, we have achieved a highly efficient plasmonic AgCl–Ag nanophotocatalyst via photochemical conversion of AgCl nanocubes. Compared with reported photocatalysts, the as-achieved nanophotocatalyst exhibits superior activity, long-term stability, and wide applicability in the decomposition of organic dye pollutants. For example, only 30 s is needed to bleach methyl orange molecules assisted by AgCl–Ag nanoparticles. Furthermore, the catalyst can be reused up to 50 times without significant loss of activity. A possible mechanism was discussed and the specified photocatalytic reactions verified that both O2•– and OH• radicals were the main active species in decomposing pollutants. The excellent performance of the present photocatalyst suggests promising applications in environmental remediation, clean energy creation, and solar cells.