β-AgVO3 nanowires/TiO2 nanoparticles heterojunction assembly with improved visible light driven photocatalytic decomposition of hazardous pollutants and mechanism insight

Abstract In this report, novel β-AgVO3 nanowires/TiO2 nanoparticles heterojunction was synthesized first time using hydrothermal technique and employed for the photocatalytic decomposition of Rhodamine (RhB) dye, simulated dye-bath effluent and colourless compound i.e. ciprofloxacin (at natural pH) under visible light illumination. The prepared composite composed of β-AgVO3 nanowires over which the nanoparticles of TiO2 were distributed. The photocatalytic outcomes demonstrated that prepared β-AgVO3 nanowires/TiO2 nanoparticles heterojunction showed enhanced (93% degradation) catalytic properties for the decomposition of RhB dye under visible illumination in contrast to bare TiO2 (43%). Moreover, β-AgVO3/TiO2 exhibited 82% decomposition of simulated dye-bath effluent, signifying enough potential for treating industrial wastewater as well. Reactive species trapping experiments exhibited that OH and e− played pivotal role in the decomposition of RhB dye in aqueous phase. About 58% TOC drop in RhB solution (10 mg/L) was accomplished after 120 min of photocatalytic reaction. Further, the detailed mechanism for the decomposition of RhB dye was discussed.