in situ ion exchange preparation of AgBr/Ag3PO4/HAP nanocomposite photocatalyst with enhanced visible light photocatalytic performance

A novel AgBr/Ag3PO4/HAP (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) nanocomposite photocatalyst was prepared by a facile in situ ion exchange route. X-Ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy techniques were used to investigate the phase structure, composition, morphology and optical property of the AgBr/Ag3PO4/HAP product. Under visible light irradiation, as-synthesized AgBr/Ag3PO4/HAP catalyst exhibited the higher visible light photocatalytic activity than Ag3PO4/HAP and AgBr/Ag3PO4, and displayed a better stability compared with Ag3PO4/HAP. The AgBr/Ag3PO4/HAP photocatalyst had a higher photodegradation rate for rhodamine B (RhB, a cationic dye) than methyl orange (MO, an anionic dye) and showed the excellent photoactivity in the acid solution or in the basic solution. The superoxide radicals (O2−
- ) and holes (h+) were considered to be the main active species for dye degradation in the AgBr/Ag3PO4/HAP suspension.