Efficient Adsorption and Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutant by Ag3PO4/ZnO/Chitosan-Biochar Composites

The combination of chitosan-biochar (CS-biochar) adsorbents and ZnO, Ag3PO4 photocatalysts is a promising scheme for organic pollutant removal. Hence, a novel efficient Ag3PO4/ZnO/CS-biochar adsorption-photocatalyst is successfully synthesized and characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and N-2 adsorption-desorption. Photocatalytic experiments have shown that the Ag3PO4/ZnO/CS-biochar with higher adsorption and photocatalytic activity. The synergetic effects of CS-biochar, ZnO and Ag3PO4 have promoted organic pollutant adsorption, and all the Ag3PO4/ZnO/CS-biochar composites with different Ag3PO4 content exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity for MB and RhB degradation. The degradation efficiency of 29 wt %-Ag3PO4/ZnO/CS-biochar composite photocatalyst (0.5 g/L) for MB and RhB (20 mg/L) reaches 99% within & AP;60 min, respectively. Excellent photocatalytic performance and recyclability, Ag3PO4/ZnO/ CS-biochar composite is expected to be an important material for solving environmental crisis. Finally, a possible photocatalytic degradation mechanism is proposed.