LAUSR

Abstract A novel graphene oxide (GO) enwrapped Ag2SO3/AgBr (GO/Ag2SO3/AgBr) composite was fabricated through a facile solution approach via electrostatic interaction and precipitation transformation reaction for the first time. The results of XRD, Raman, SEM, TEM and XPS confirmed the structure, morphology and composition of the GO/Ag2SO3/AgBr composite very well. The Ag2SO3/AgBr nanoparticles were found to be encapsulated by GO sheets. The photocatalytic activity of the composite was investigated by the degradation of methyl orange (MO), rhodamine B (RhB) and methylene blue (MB) in water under visible light. The incorporation of GO sheets not only significantly enhanced the photocatalytic activity but also improved the reusability of Ag2SO3/AgBr nanoparticles. The photocatalytic ability of GO/Ag2SO3/AgBr can be maintained at a high level for 4 times cycle experiments. The trapping experiments confirmed that holes and superoxide ion radicals were the main active species responsible for the degradation reaction. A plasmonic Z-scheme photocatalytic mechanism was proposed to illustrate the possible transferred and separated behavior of electron-hole pairs among Ag, Ag2SO3, AgBr and GO quaternary system under visible light irradiation.