Fabrication of 3D Sponge@AgBr-AgCl/Ag and Tubular Photoreactor for Continuous Wastewater Purification under Sunlight Irradiation

Semiconductor photocatalysis is promising for the remediation of organic pollutants in environmental wastewater. At present, the main bottlenecks of relative research lie in how to more effectively improve the sunlight activity of photocatalysts and realize their reutilization. Herein, we assembled AgBr-AgCl/Ag on the skeletons of melamine sponge (MS) by immobilizing Ag nanowires (NWs) on MS skeletons, transferring Ag into AgBr-AgCl, and further reducing part Ag+ into metallic Ag. The microstructures of MS@AgBr-AgCl/Ag were characterized by the means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that AgBr-AgCl/Ag NWs were successfully loaded on the skeletons of MS to form a 3D structure, and there existed a composite structure between AgBr and AgCl. The transient photocurrents and electrochemical impedance analyses revealed that the AgBr-AgCl composite structure effectively decreased the impedance of charge carrier transfer, and co...