LAUSR

Abstract Cocatalyst modification is a promising approach for the improved degradation performance of photocatalytic materials owing to rapid charge transfer and interfacial catalytic process. In this work, basic zinc carbonate as a novel cocatalyst was successfully loaded on the surface of Ag-AgCl by a simple impregnation method (the resultant basic zinc carbonate-modified Ag-AgCl was referred as b-Zn/Ag-AgCl). Photocatalytic degradation results suggested that all the b-Zn/Ag-AgCl samples exhibited the enhanced photocatalytic activity, and the highest rate constant of b-Zn/Ag-AgCl was 2.7 times as high as that of the unmodified Ag-AgCl. Importantly, the basic zinc carbonate could work as a general cocatalyst to enhance the photocatalytic activity of other Ag-based photocatalysts (Ag-AgBr, Ag-AgI, Ag-Ag3PO4, and Ag-Ag2CO3) besides Ag-AgCl. Therefore, it is suggested that basic zinc carbonate functions as an efficient electron cocatalyst to quickly transfer electrons and inhibit the formation of metallic Ag for the promoted photocatalytic performance and stability of Ag-based compounds. This present compound is one of the available and promising cocatalysts for Ag-based photocatalysts.