ZnO nanorod arrays on cubic Ag3PO4 microcrystals with enhanced photocatalytic property

• Heterostructure of ZnO/Ag3PO4 was fabricated via a facile two-step solution strategy.
• The morphology of obtained ZnO/Ag3PO4 heterostructure was dandelion-like.
• As-prepared ZnO/Ag3PO4 heterostructure promoted the separation of photoexcited electron–hole pairs.
• The ZnO/Ag3PO4 heterostructure exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity in RhB degradation.

Novel hierarchical heterostructure of ZnO nanorod (NR) arrays grown on Ag3PO4 microcubes (MCs) was fabricated via a facile two-step aqueous strategy including ZnO seed loading and the subsequent crystal growth of ZnO NR arrays on Ag3PO4 MCs. As-prepared ZnO NR/Ag3PO4 MC heterostructure exhibited a superior photocatalytic activity than bare ZnO NRs and Ag3PO4 MCs toward degradation of RhodamineB (RhB) under visible light irradiation. The enhanced catalytic performance was ascribed to the unique ZnO NR/Ag3PO4 MC heterostructure which supplied abundant active sites for effective catalyzing and promoted the separation of photo-excited electron–hole pairs.