Ag@ZnO/BiOCl composites were successfully prepared by in situ precipitation and hydrothermal synthesis and used for the photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride antibiotics. An enhanced photodegradation efficiency was detected after loading Ag nanoparticles, which is attributed to the surface plasmon resonance effect. The optimized sample containing 4% Ag showed 80.4% degradation efficiency in 80 min, which is 2.1 and 1.9 times higher than those of ZnO and ZnO/BiOCl, respectively. The major degrading species involved in the photocatalytic process were detected to be super oxide anions and holes. Based on the obtained results, a possible charge transfer and degradation mechanism has been proposed. This study shows that Ag@ZnO/BiOCl catalyst has a good potential for photodegradation of organic pollutants in water.
