Ag-decorated BiOCl anchored onto the g-C₃N₄ sheets for boosted photocatalytic and antimicrobial activities

The most promising strategy for environmental preservation and wastewater treatment is to create semiconductor-based photocatalysts. Semiconducting photocatalysts have gained considerable attention for water treatment applications due to their excellent and notable efficiency. The present work is based on the fabrication of bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl), and silver-decorated bismuth oxychloride (Ag@BiOCl) by the facile co-precipitation method. The composite of silver-decorated bismuth oxychloride with graphitic carbon nitride sheets (Ag@BiOCl/g-C₃N₄) was synthesized using an ultra-sonication approach. The as-fabricated samples were then characterized using different techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), and UV–Visible spectroscopy. XRD confirmed the formation of as prepared samples while FESEM confirmed their flower-like morphology. FTIR and EDX were used respectively to confirm the functional groups and elemental composition of prepared photocatalysts. Furthermore, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and the Mott-Schottky experiment were performed to analyze the charge separation efficiency and recombination rate of photoreactive species. The optical band gap (E_g) was measured using a UV–Visible spectrophotometer. The E_g value of BiOCl and Ag@BiOCl are 3.38 eV and 2.93 eV respectively. Also, the fabricated photocatalysts were used for the photo-degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB), Crystal violet (CV), and phenol. The degradation efficiency of Ag@BiOCl/g-CN is high as compared to pristine BiOCl and Ag@BiOCl. The % degradation of RhB, CV, and phenol by Ag@BiOCl/g-CN are 92 %, 95.29 %, and 40.24 % respectively. The samples were also used as antimicrobial agents against K.Pneumoniae and S.aureus. Ag@BiOCl/g-CN composite demonstrated outstanding antibacterial efficacy against both positive and negative strains.