Simple precipitation synthesis and solar light-driven photocatalytic degradation of Ag3PO4 floating photocatalysts

Abstract

A highly efficient and stable photocatalyst, Ag _3 PO _4 , was prepared using a simple co-precipitation method at room temperature. The precursors used in this process were AgNO _3 and K _2 HPO _4 . The resulting Ag _3 PO _4 photocatalyst forms irregularly-shaped spheres with diameters ranging from 300 to 1 μm. The shape of the Ag _3 PO _4 photocatalyst slightly changes when different surfactants (PVA, PVP, PEG) are used. The powdered Ag _3 PO _4 photocatalyst exhibits excellent visible light-driven photocatalytic performance. It is capable of decomposing rhodamine B (RhB) as a model pollutant in just 5 min under visible light irradiation. This performance is quite remarkable. Interestingly, Ag _3 PO _4 floating composite sheets have been achieved using polystyrene (PS) and fumed silica Aerosil 200. After three cycles, the decolorization of RhB dyes remains at 87% with the 30% Ag _3 PO _4 @PS/Aerosil 200 sheet. This indicates that the Ag _3 PO _4 @PS/Aerosil 200 photocatalyst is highly reusable and stable.

Keywords

• floating photocatalyst
• visible light
• dyes degradation
• crystal
• Ag3PO4