Novel AgCl/CNTs/g-C3N4 nanocomposite with high photocatalytic and antibacterial activity

Abstract In this study, we were constructed a photocatalytic and antibacterial material AgCl/Carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) by deposition–precipitation method. A series of characterizations indicate that AgCl nanoparticles are deposited on CNTs and then dispersed together on g-C3N4 (CN). The photocatalytic properties of the composites were investigated by photodegrading tetracycline under visible light. The AgCl/CNTs/CN nanocomposites exhibit excellent photocatalytic efficiency of 86.44%, which is three times the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of pure CN and AgCl/CN. In addition, the catalytic activity of AgCl/CNTs/CN composites against Escherichia coli (E. coli) was also investigated. The inhibition zone experiment showed that the composite had a strong inhibitory effect on E. coli.