Preparation and characterization of Ag3PO4/BiOI heterostructure photocatalyst with highly visible-light-induced photocatalytic properties

In this study, novel Ag3PO4/BiOI heterostructure photocatalysts were synthesized by simple ion-exchange deposition method. The as-prepared products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). In the composites, Ag3PO4 particles are deposited on the surface of plates of BiOI. The photocatalytic tests display that the Ag3PO4/BiOI heterostructures possess a higher rate for degradation of rhodamine B(RhB), methtylene blue(MB) and methyl orange(MO) than the pure BiOI under visible light illumination. The catalytic activity of the composite is greatly influenced by the molar ratio of Ag3PO4/BiOI, the best visible-light photocatalytic performance was obtained for 2:1-Ag3PO4/BiOI for RhB and MB degradation and 1:2-Ag3PO4/BiOI for MO degradation. The results show that the heterostructure construction between Ag3PO4 and BiOI semiconductors plays a very important role in their photocatalytic properties, which has the potential application in solving environmental pollution issues utilizing solar energy effectively.