photocatalytic properties under sunlight of heterostructures agcl/cuo obtained by sonochemical method

Agcl/cuo heterostructures were synthesized via a sonochemical method. agcl/cuo molar compositions of 1:1 and 2:1 were prepared, respectively. such compositions were prepared using three distinct routes. the particles were characterized by x-ray diffraction (xrd), scanning electron microscopy (sem-feg) and uv-vis spectroscopy (uv-vis). in order to analyze the applicability of the heterostructure, photocatalytic tests were performed under sunlight and uv-vis radiation for the degradation of the methylene blue dye. the results of the x-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of the agcl/cuo heterostructure in all samples, with no evidence of doping or formation of deleterious phases. sem images indicate a cubic-like morphology for the agcl particles, forming ag0 on its surface, the cuo particles have a leaf appearance. the results of the photocatalytic activity indicate that the increase of the agcl molar ratio from 1:1 to 2:1 accelerates the degradation of methylene blue for both the radiations and shows that sunlight decreases by at least 55% for the degradation of the methylene blue, depending on the composition, to the heterostructure.