Forerunner investigators of photocatalysis utilized TiO₂ as the photocatalyst of choice. It has major drawbacks of which the most important one is that it is only activated under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation. This high energy consumption made the process practically unfeasible. Solar energy (natural light and heat from sun) has great prospects with regards to acting as a substitute for UV light since it is a renewable and cheaper energy source. In this work, the development of a heterogeneous silver/ silver chloride/ bismuth oxychloride (Ag/AgCl/BiOCl) photocatalyst that is able to utilize natural light through visible light activation was investigated. This will successfully serve as a green alternative in the use of renewable energy for pollution reduction while saving energy. The synthesized photocatalysts were characterized using various techniques. The purity and crystallinity of the synthesized photocatalysts were determined using x-ray diffraction (XRD) while x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to determine the elemental composition and chemical states present in the synthesized catalysts as well as confirm the presence of elemental Ag. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) specified the functional groups present while the morphology and chemical composition were determined using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The surface area and pore size were measured on a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was done to determine the thermal degradation of synthesized particles. Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV–vis) was done to determine the photoabsorption range and bandgap of the particles as efficiency of photocatalysis is dependent on these properties together with the morphology of the semiconductor material. Ag/AgCl/BiOCl photocatalyst showed good photocatalytic activity of 52 % under a low-wattage simulated visible light irradiation in 4 h. This work therefore shows great prospect for pollution control through energy reduction thereby protecting the environment.

光催化的先驱研究者利用了TiO ₂作为首选的光催化剂。它具有主要缺点，其中最重要的缺点是它仅在紫外线（UV）照射下被激活。如此高的能耗实际上使该工艺不可行。太阳能（自然光和来自太阳的热量）在替代紫外线方面具有广阔的前景，因为它是可再生且便宜的能源。在这项工作中，研究了能够通过可见光活化利用自然光的非均相银/氯化银/氯氧化铋（Ag / AgCl / BiOCl）光催化剂的开发。这将成功地成为使用可再生能源减少污染，节约能源的绿色替代方案。使用各种技术对合成的光催化剂进行了表征。使用X射线衍射（XRD）确定合成的光催化剂的纯度和结晶度，同时使用X射线光电子能谱（XPS）确定合成催化剂中存在的元素组成和化学状态，并确认元素的存在银 傅立叶变换红外光谱法（FTIR）指定存在的官能团，同时使用扫描电子显微镜（SEM）结合能量色散X射线光谱法（EDS）和透射电子显微镜（TEM）确定形态和化学组成。在Brunauer-Emmett-Teller（BET）上测量表面积和孔径，并进行热重分析（TGA）以确定合成颗粒的热降解。进行紫外可见光谱（UV-vis）来确定颗粒的光吸收范围和带隙，因为光催化的效率取决于这些特性以及半导体材料的形态。Ag / AgCl / BiOCl光催化剂在4小时的低功率模拟可见光照射下显示出52％的良好光催化活性。因此，这项工作显示出通过减少能耗从而保护环境来控制污染的广阔前景。