The synergistic effect of graphene oxide and silver vacancy in Ag3PO4-based photocatalysts for rhodamine B degradation under visible light

• Published in: Applied surface science Vol. 462; pp. 263 - 269
• Main Authors: Liu, Ruidi, Li, Hui, Duan, Libing, Shen, Hao, Zhang, Qian, Zhao, Xiaoru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 31.12.2018
• Subjects: Ag3PO4; Graphene oxide; Photocatalytic activity; Silver vacancy; Visible light; Photocatalytic activity; Silver vacancy; Visible light; Graphene oxide; Ag3PO4
• ISSN: 0169-4332; 1873-5584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2018.07.173

[Display omitted] •Ag3PO4@GO composites have been synthesized via facile co-precipitation and ultrasonic process.•The weak AgO bond in Ag3PO4 crystals leading to silver vacancies in the lattice.•The roles of different GO contents in the composites played have been studied.•The enhanced photocatalysis could be explained by synergistic effect of VAg and GO. Spherical-like Ag3PO4 and graphene oxide (GO) wrapped Ag3PO4 (Ag3PO4@GO) composites with different GO contents were successfully synthesized via facile co-precipitation and ultrasonic processes. The morphologies, structures, and surface bonds of the samples were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, FTIR, and XPS spectroscopy. Furthermore, photocatalytic activities toward rhodamine B (RhB) degradation of these samples under visible light were evaluated. The experimental results indicated that the breaking of the weak AgO bond led to silver vacancies (VAg) in Ag3PO4 lattice, which acted as trapping centers of photo-generated holes. The enhanced photocatalytic performance of the Ag3PO4@GO samples could be explained by the synergistic effect of VAg and GO. Ag3PO4 hybrid with 10 mg GO (Ag3PO4@10GO) was turned out to have the highest content of VAg, thus leading to the optimum improvement of photocatalytic activity.