Confinement of Ag3PO4 nanoparticles supported by surface plasmon resonance of Ag in glass: Efficient nanoscale photocatalyst for solar H2 production from waste H2S

•Intellectual design of Ag3PO4 glass nanocomposite is demonstrated for first time.•Photocorrosion problem of Ag3PO4 has been resolved.•Quantum confinement of Ag3PO4 is examined in Ag3PO4 glass nanocomposite.•The effect of particle size on H2 evolution from copious waste H2S has been investigated.•The utmost H2 evolution i.e. 3920.4 μmol h−1 g−1 is obtained.

Ag3PO4 is a good photocatalyst but ubiquitously known for its photocorrosion problem during photocatalytic reaction. Therefore, stabilization of Ag3PO4 with retaining its fundamental properties has immense importance. With this motivation, we designed Ag3PO4 glass nanocomposite to resolve the problem of photocorrosion. Moreover, the effect of size quantization on photocatalytic activity has also been demonstrated by growing the cubic Ag3PO4 nanoparticles with size in the range of 3–9 nm in glass matrix via melt and quenching method. The band gap of Ag3PO4 has been tuned (2.56–2.25 eV) in glass matrix with respect to size. Considering the size tunable band gap of Ag3PO4 glass nanocomposite within visible region, it is demonstrated as a photocatalyst for hydrogen (H2) production from copious hazardous waste H2S. The utmost H2 production i.e. 3920.4 μmol h−1 g−1 is obtained using 1 gm of Ag3PO4 glass nanocomposite powder. The apparent quantum yield for H2 production is calculated to be 5.51% for Ag3PO4 glass nanocomposite. Interestingly, presence of plasmonic Ag was also observed in Ag3PO4 glass nanocomposite which contributes for H2 production through enhanced light absorption, efficient charge separation and improved stability. Recycling study of sample reveals stable H2 production efficiency and good stability of the photocatalyst. Surprisingly, catalyst can be reused many times and recovery of catalyst is possible just rinsing with distilled water. All these results demonstrate directly the feasibility of designing a new generation photocatalysts.

Graphical abstractThe band gap tuning through confinement of Ag3PO4 nanoparticles (3–13 nm) in glass nanocomposite has been demonstrated. Tuning the band gap within visible region, the as prepared Ag3PO4 glass nanocomposite has been used as visible light active photocatalyst to produce H2 from environmental pollutant abundant waste H2S. The Ag3PO4 glass nanocomposite photocatalyst is recoverable showing excellent photocatalytic activity due to enhanced light absorption, efficient charge seperation and improved stability.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide