Construction of flower-like MoS/AgS/Ag Z-scheme photocatalysts with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity for water purification.

Flower-like MoS/AgS/Ag nanocomposites have been elaborately designed and synthesized successfully for the first time. The prepared MoS/AgS/Ag nanocomposites as a novel photocatalysts present effective photocatalytic performance for the photodegradation of congo red (CR), tetracycline hydrochloride (TC-HCl) and disinfection for Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa). For the photodegradation of TC-HCl, the effect of the pH of the initial solution and photocatalysts dosage was investigated. Furthermore, intermediates of TC-HCl degradation were verified by GC-MS analysis and the possible pathway of the photodegradation was also proposed. The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) technique and trapping experiments verified the electron transport path is Z-scheme system (PS-C-PS). Among them, Ag as an electron mediator enhanced the electron transmission rate and accelerated the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers.