LAUSR

Hierarchical Ag2V4O11 nano-protuberance-assembled submicrofibers have been successfully synthesized through a facile and surfactant-free hydrothermal strategy. Morphology and microstructures of as-fabricated products are carefully examined using TEM, SA-ED, HRTEM, FE-SEM, XPS and X-ray diffraction. A possible growth mechanism of the as-obtained Ag2V4O11 hierarchical submicrofibers is proposed by a time dependent experiments and the dosage of Ag. The as-prepared Ag2V4O11 products are further regarded as a kind of photocatalyst for the catalytic degradation of three toxic organic dyes, methyl blue (MB), methyl orange and rhodamine blue. Radical trapping experiments have been applied to confirm the photoreaction mechanism. Compared with N-doped TiO2 and P25, the catalyst Ag2V4O11 prepared at 24 h reaction time exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity for MB degradation under visible-light illumination. It was ascribed to the formation of superoxide radicals species, and hierarchical structure. The use of ESI-MS analyses showed that the MB dye molecules were broken up by the action of the Ag2V4O11 photocatalyst, indicating the occurrence of a mineralization process. Additionally, kinetic results showed that the degradation process follows Langmuir–Hinshelwood (L–H) first-order kinetic reaction.