Synthesis of an Ag3PO4/Nb2O5 Photocatalyst for the Degradation of Dye

Abstract

In this work, the photocatalytic performance of Ag3PO4, Nb2O5 and Ag3PO4/Nb2O5 hybrid photocatalysts to degrade methyl orange dye, MO, in an aqueous solution under visible light irradiation was evaluated. The Ag3PO4 and Ag3PO4/Nb2O5 photocatalysts, with various Ag to Nb molar ratios, were prepared using a facile precipitation method. The photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV–Visible, X-ray Photoelectron, and Photoluminescence spectroscopies. Upon the addition of Ag3PO4, the band gap energy of Nb2O5 decreased from 3.0 eV to 2.7 eV, indicating the possible use of the Ag3PO4/Nb2O5 hybrid photocatalysts under visible light irradiation. All of the prepared Ag3PO4/Nb2O5 catalysts exhibited higher photocatalytic performance than Ag3PO4 in degrading methyl orange dye under 23-watt visible light irradiation. The Ag3PO4/Nb2O5 catalyst, with a mole ratio of 2:1, exhibited the fastest MO degradation rate of 7.3 × 10−2 min−1, which is twice faster than that of Ag3PO4. The catalyst also shows better stability, as it is reusable for up to six experimental cycles while maintaining its photocatalytic activity above 60%.

Preparation and Characterization of Tubelike g-C3N4/Ag3PO4 Heterojunction with Enhanced Visible-Light Photocatalytic Activity

“…In 2010, Ye et al [11] reported a novel visible light photocatalyst, Ag 3 PO 4 , which showed very strong oxidation capacity and high visible-light catalytic activity. In addition, its quantum efficiency reached 90%, far higher than that of other metal oxide semiconductor photocatalysts [12][13][14][15]. However, Ag 3 PO 4 is prone to photoelectron corrosion and becomes unstable during photocatalytic reaction, which severely limits the application of Ag 3 PO 4 in the field of photocatalysis.…”

Tuning the particle size, physical properties, and photocatalytic activity of Ag3PO4 materials by changing the Ag+/ PO43− ratio

“…Therefore, besides finding solutions to increase specific surface area, researchers also focus on enhancing the structural stability of the materials by adjusting the ratio of Ag + and PO 3− 4 [9,16,17] to find the most stable structure. In addition, increasing the lifetime of the electron/hole pair to increase the photocatalytic efficiency has always been of interest to research through the creation of a heterojunction between APO and other semiconductors [15,[18][19][20][21] as well as doping of APO with suitable ions. [22][23][24] Previous studies showed that the different concentrations of Ag + and PO 3− 4 in the starting solutions significantly affects the particle size and morphology, crystallinity, absorption capability and structure stability of Ag 3 PO 3 .…”