BN nanosheet: An efficient carriers transfer promoter and stabilizer to enhance the photocatalytic performance of Ag2CO3

Pure monoclinic Ag2CO3 photocatalyst was prepared and simultaneously modified by graphene-analogus BN by a facile precipitation method. The structure and morphology of samples were characterized by TEM, SEM, EDS, XRD, FUR, UV-vis/DRS and PL. Influence of the addition of BN on the photocatalytic degradation of RhB was investigated. The result indicated that the photocatalytic activity of Ag2CO3 was enhanced substantially by proper modification of BN. The RhB degradation reaction has a good linear relationship with pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics and the photocatalytic activity of the composites is higher than pure Ag2CO3. The degradation rate constant k of the BN/Ag2CO3 (3 wt%) composite (0.05919 min(-1)) is 2.33 times higher than that of pure Ag2CO3 (0.02538 min(-1)). Meanwhile, the photocorrosion of Ag2CO3 can be efficiently inhibited by BN, indicating a promising stable photocatalysts in practical application. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.