Synthesis of Pb9(PO4)6/Ag3PO4 Composite Photocatalysts With Enhanced Visible Light Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract

Pb₉(PO₄)₆/Ag₃PO₄ photocatalysts with different amounts of Pb₉(PO₄)₆ were successfully synthesized by the ion exchange method. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer- Emmett-Teller (BET), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IS), and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy. All Pb₉(PO₄)₆/Ag₃PO₄ photocatalysts show much higher photocatalytic activities than pure Ag₃PO₄ under visible light irradiation in the methyl-orange (MO) decomposition. Especially, the 3.0 wt% Pb₉(PO₄)₆/Ag₃PO₄ photocatalyst shows the highest photoactivity and also high stability after five cycles. The MO degradation rate during each cycle is almost maintained at 97%. Photo-electrochemical measurement of photocatalysts verified that the enhancing photocatalytic activity was resulted from the electron-hole pair high separation. The photocatalytic activity enhancement of Pb₉(PO₄)₆/Ag₃PO₄ is closely related to •OH, the main active oxygen species.

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