In situ fabrication of graphene-based Ag3PO4@AgBr composite with enhanced photocatalytic activity under simulated sunlight

In this study, graphene grafted Ag3PO4@AgBr (GO-Ag3PO4@AgBr) composite with enhanced photocatalytic performance was synthesized via in situ fabrication method. The synthesized composite was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The GO-Ag3PO4@AgBr composite was exhibited higher activity than Ag3PO4@AgBr and bare Ag3PO4. The material characterization and the detailed study of the various parameters which affect the photocatalytic reaction, revealed that the enhanced catalytic activity is related to the surface electric property of the synthesized catalyst. The investigation of the energy band structure further considered as a reason for the enhancement of the multi-electron reaction. Furthermore, the effect of illuminated light on the catalytic performance was also investigated. The results indicated that simulated sunlight significantly affects the catalytic activity compared with visible light. In addition, the photocatalytic experimental conditions were tested, and sonication of the dye/catalyst reaction system for 10 min was selected to be the optimum condition to establish absorption - desorption equilibrium. This work could supply a new way to use natural sunlight to facilitate the practical application of photocatalysts in environment issues.