离子交换法制备廉价而高效的可见光驱动CaMg(CO3)2@Ag2CO3微球光催化剂

Ag2CO3是一种典型的银基半导体,可在可见光照射下降解各种有机染料,但制备成本高,光腐蚀严重,稳定性差,难以循环利用等,因而限制了它的实际应用.针对这些问题,目前多数的改进措施是构建异质结,有效的分离光生电子与空穴来提高Ag2CO3的光催化性能.比如典型的异质结光催化剂有TiO2/Ag2CO3,Ag2CO3/ZnO,Ag2O/Ag2CO3和AgX/Ag2CO3等.也有在表面化学沉积,光化学还原Ag等贵金属形成等离子体等方式提高其光催化性能,但是很少通过特殊形貌控制以提高Ag2CO3的光催化性能.最近的研究表明,由于多尺度微球结构催化剂具有高效的光捕能力,同时具有比表面积大、易沉降,良好的物质传输能力和表面的渗透性,因而在液相光催化反应中具有明显的优势.因此,我们期望制备出一个多尺度微球结构Ag2CO3光催化剂.CaMg(CO3)2是一种具有微球结构的半导体,它与Ag2CO3有相同的阴离子结构,但是两者在水溶液中的溶解度相差较大,利用这个特性理论上可以将两个不同的半导体结合在一起,得到一种新型的复合微球.本文以CaMg(CO3)2微球为硬模板,通过简单的离子交换成功制备了粒径约为10μm的CaMg(CO3)2@Ag2CO3微球.利用X射线衍射、N2物理吸附、扫描电镜、傅里叶变换红外光谱和紫外-可见漫反射吸收光谱、光电流等手段对在不同反应时间与温度下制得的CaMg(CO3)2与Ag2CO3的复合物进行了表征.结果表明,在40°C下Ag+与Ca2+、Mg2+离子交换4 h后,得到了一种多尺度CaMg(CO3)2@Ag2CO3复合微球.此时,微球中Ag2CO3的含量约为2.56%.结果表明,这种具有多尺度结构的复合微球能够增强可见光的吸收.电化学阻抗测试和光电流测试表明,CaMg(CO3)2核的存在可以降低光生载流子的迁移阻力,进而促进光生电子与空穴的分离.在光降解酸性橙II的测试中,核壳结构的CaMg(CO3)2@Ag2CO3复合微球表现出了更高的催化活性,而且具有更好的循环使用性能.同时,相对于纯Ag2CO3光催化剂来说,CaMg(CO3)2@Ag2CO3复合微球制备的成本大幅度降低.ESR测试证明了·OH为CaMg(CO3)2@Ag2CO3复合微球光催化过程中的主要活性物质.

Low-cost and efficient visible-light-driven CaMg(CO3)2@Ag2CO3 microspheres fabricated via an ion exchange route

CaMg(CO3)2 microspheres were prepared and used as hard templates to fabricate a series of CaMg(CO3)2@Ag2CO3 composite microspheresvia a fast and low-cost ion exchange process. The effects of ion exchange time and temperature on the physicochemical properties and photocatalytic activities of the composite microspheres were studied through photocatalytic degradation of Acid Orange II under xenon lamp irradiation. The obtained samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, N2 physical adsorption, and photocurrent tests. The CaMg(CO3)2@Ag2CO3 sample with the highest activity was obtained with an ion exchange time of 4 h and temperature of 40 °C. The degradation rate of Acid Orange II by this sample reached 83.3% after 15 min of light irradiation, and the sample also performed well in phenol degradation. The CaMg(CO3)2@Ag2CO3 produced under these ion exchange conditions showed a well-ordered hierarchical morphology with small particle sizes, which was beneficial to light absorption and the transfer of photoelectrons (e-) and holes (h+) to the catalyst surface. Moreover, the separation of photogenerated carriers over the composites was greatly improved relative to bare CaMg(CO3)2. Despite the very low content of Ag2CO3 (2.56%), excellent photocatalytic performance was obtained over the CaMg(CO3)2@Ag2CO3 microspheres.