Preparation of Ag3PO4/Ni3(PO4)2 hetero-composites by cation exchange reaction and its enhancing photocatalytic performance

Recently, Ag3PO4 has been shown to be a promising photocatalyst for the degradation of organic pollutants in wastewater. The hetero-composites between Ag3PO4 and other phosphate can help to enhance the dispersion of Ag3PO4 particles, improve the separation of photo-generated charges, and decrease the cost of photocatalyst. In this study, Ag3PO4/Ni3(PO4)2 hetero-composites were prepared by a cation exchange reaction for the first time using cheap Ni3(PO4)2 as starting materials, characterized with higher-magnification transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and photo-luminescence (PL) technique, and tested in photocatalytic degradation of phenol in water under visible light. The results show that the Ag3PO4/Ni3(PO4)2 composites prepared by cation exchange reaction consist of well dispersive Ag3PO4 particles on the surface of Ni3(PO4)2, and the size of Ag3PO4 particles is 3–5 nm, which is far smaller than that of pure Ag3PO4 and Ag3PO4/Ni3(PO4)2 composites prepared by coprecipitation method. The content of Ag3PO4 has significant influence on the photo absorption, photocurrent response and photocatalytic performance, and Ag3PO4/Ni3(PO4)2 composites with Ag3PO4 loading of 60 wt.% display the highest photocatalytic activity for the degradation of phenol under visible light among these samples. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of Ag3PO4/Ni3(PO4)2 is related to the small particle size of Ag3PO4 and efficient separation of electron–hole pairs.

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