Facile synthesis and activity of daylight-driven plasmonic catalyser Ag/AgX (X = Cl, Br)

Ag/AgX (X=Cl, Br) indoor daylight-driven (DLD) photocatalysts were synthesised by a one-step chemical bath method at low temperature and characterised by X-ray diffraction patterns, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscope and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectra. The Ag/AgX composites showed very high DLD photocatalytic activity for rhodamine B degradation. The photocatalytic mechanism over the Ag/AgX was analysed by active species trapping experiments. It showed that the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in the Ag/AgX system proceeds mainly through direct holes transfer. This study has revealed that plasmonic indoor DLD photocatalysis may open a new frontier for indoor pollutant control around the clock under fluorescent lamp illumination.