Tunable photocatalytic selectivity and stability of Ba-doped Ag3PO4 hollow nanosheets

A one-step cation exchange process has been applied for the first time to the fabrication of nanoporous Ba-doped Ag3PO4 hollow nanosheets using Ba3(PO4)2 as the starting material. The constituent-dependent changes in phase and morphology were investigated comprehensively to elucidate the nanosheet formation mechanism. The resultant Ba-doped Ag3PO4 hollow nanosheets exhibited much higher photocatalytic performance and photoconversion efficiency than Ag3PO4 cubes and spherical particles under visible light irradiation. More importantly, the photocatalyst exhibited unique preferential decomposition of methyl orange over rhodamine B and high photocatalytic stability under visible light irradiation.

Graphical AbstractBa-doped Ag3PO4 hollow nanosheets, which exhibit much higher photocatalytic performance and photoconversion efficiency than Ag3PO4 cubes and spherical particles under visible light irradiation, have been synthesized for the first time by a novel and simple cation exchange process using Ba3(PO4)2. The products exhibit preferential decomposition of methyl orange (MO) in comparison to rhodamine B (RhB) and high photocatalytic stability under visible light irradiation.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide