Increase of photocatalytic activity of Ag3PO4 by surface modification with Pt nanoparticles

Abstract

In the recent past, pollution has become the main problem that has a negative impact on the world around us. Environmentally friendly methods and solutions that allow for removal them are intensively sought and also processes enabling to their chemical reduction by acquire alternative energy sources. One of the photocatalysts that can be used in such processes is Ag3PO4. What's more, the proposed semiconductor is characterized by a narrow energy gap (2.48 eV) in contrast to TiO2 (3.2 eV), which may indicate its high photoactivity under the influence of irradiation in the visible range (Chen, Dai, & Wang, 2015; Li, Chen, Wang, & Teng, 2014; Wan et al., 2015)(Chen et al., 2015; Wan et a., 2015; Li et al., 2014). The photocatalytic excitation mechanism can also be aided by surface modification of the semiconductor with noble metal nanoparticles. Until now, information on the application of Pt nanoparticles to the surface of Ag3PO4 has not been found in the literature on the subject, therefore a new modification method has been developed in this study. At the same time, the aim of the work was to assess the impact of the amount of metal deposited on the surface of the semiconductor on its properties and photocatalytic activity.