Synthesis of Ag3PO4/BiOBr composites for treating photocatalytic degradation of MO and MG

Abstract

In this paper, the heterostructure of Ag₃PO₄/BiOBr was synthesized by chemical deposition. The degradation rates of MO and MG in Ag₃PO₄/BiOBr-2 (B2AP) reached 93.33% and 89.16% within 35 and 6 min, and the degradation kinetic rate constants were 3.47 and 1.17 times higher than those of pure Ag₃PO₄, and B2AP still maintained good catalytic activity after 4 cycles. BiOBr nanosheets are attached to the surface of Ag₃PO₄ nanoparticles, which increases the reactive site and improves the light utilization efficiency. Through free radical trapping experiments, it was determined that the main active substances for the degradation of MO were ·O₂⁻ and h⁺. After a series of characterization and photoelectrochemical experiments, a new possible photocatalytic mechanism of Z-type heterojunction Ag₃PO₄/BiOBr photocatalyst was proposed.