Preparation of graphene oxide-loaded Ag3PO4@AgCl and its photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue and O2 evolution activity under visible light irradiation

•Graphene oxide-loaded AgCl/Ag3PO4 composite photocatalyst was prepared for the first time.•The composite photocatalysts show high activity for dye degradation and O2 evolution.•The effect of graphene amount on the photocatalytic activity was investigated.•The composite photocatalyst showed good stability.

A series of GO modified AgCl/Ag3PO4 composites were prepared by a simple method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) analysis and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) specific surface area analysis. The photocatalytic performance of the samples was measured by the degradation of dye methylene blue (MB) and O2 evolution under visible light irradiation. The results indicated that the couple of AgCl and GO could effectively enhance the photoactivity and stability in comparison with bare Ag3PO4. From the analysis, it can be inferred that GO sheets could accelerate the separation of electron–hole pairs and also improve the light absorption ability in comparison with bare Ag3PO4 and AgCl/Ag3PO4. Additionally, an optimum amount of GO added in the composite was obtained.

Graphical abstractA novel hybrid photocatalyst (graphene oxide-loaded Ag3PO4@AgCl) was prepared by an in-situ anion ion-exchanging method. The as-obtained samples showed enhanced photocatalytic activity for dye decomposition and oxygen evolution under visible light irradiation.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide