A novel Ag3PO4/CuO nanocomposite with enhanced photocatalytic performance

A novel Ag3PO4/CuO nanocomposite photocatalyst was synthesized via a facile in-situ precipitation technique. The as-synthesized products were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM and UV-vis spectroscopy. The result confirmed that Ag3PO4 and CuO have been composited successfully. The degradation efficiency of Rhodamine B (RhB) over commercial P25 or pure CuO was only about 22% and 46%. Compared with pure Ag3PO4, the Ag3PO4/CuO nanocomposite needed less time to degrade RhB completely, showing the best photocatalytic activity. This enhancement was attributed to the coupling of Ag3PO4 and CuO, which improve the transfer of photoexcited carriers, inhibit their recombination and facilitate the production of more
- OH radicals.