Ag₃PO₄ nanoparticle decorated on SiO₂ spheres for efficient visible light photocatalysis

Abstract

A visible light active photocatalyst, Ag₃PO₄ (20 nm), in combination with mesoporous SiO₂ spheres (200 nm) leads to enhanced photocatalytic activity (∼52 times) in the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B dye compared to bare silver phosphate. The lifetime of the charge carriers is increased by nearly four times (from 0.05 to 0.20 ns) in the composite. The silver phosphate–silica composite has almost no loss of activity after 5 cycles under light irradiation, indicating that the composite has good photocatalytic stability. The addition of SiO₂ also reduces the cost of the composite catalyst.