Synthesis of Ag3PO4–ZnO nanorod composites with high visible-light photocatalytic activity

• Synthesis of Ag3PO4 nanoparticle-ZnO nanorod composites by a facile method;
• Ag3PO4-ZnO exhibit higher photodegradation activity than bare ZnO nanorods;
• The optimum loading amount of Ag3PO4 is 2.5 mol % in Ag3PO4-ZnO;
• Ag3PO4-ZnO possess a better recyclability and stability than Ag3PO4 nanoparticles.

Ag3PO4 nanoparticles with 50–100 nm in size distributed on the surface of ZnO nanorods with ca. 20 nm in diameter and 1–2 μm in length have been synthesized by a facile method. The Ag3PO4–ZnO nanorod composites had much higher photocatalytic activity toward degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation than pure ZnO nanorods, and had better recyclability and stability than pure Ag3PO4 nanoparticles. The Ag3PO4–ZnO nanorod composite with the molar ratio of Ag3PO4:ZnO = 1:40 exhibited the highest photodegradation efficiency of RhB (93%), which was 1.5 times of pure ZnO nanorods.

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