One-pot, facile fabrication of a Ag3PO4-based ternary Z-scheme photocatalyst with excellent visible-light photoactivity and anti-photocorrosion performance

Abstract Ag 3 PO 4 can-not be widely used as an efficient photocatalyst in practical applications because of its susceptibility to photocorrosion. In this study, a novel, ternary Z-scheme photocatalytic system containing graphene oxide (GO), Ag 3 PO 4 and SnS 2 was fabricated by a one-pot, mild, in-situ precipitation method successfully. Using Rhodamine B (RhB) as the target of elimination, GO/Ag 3 PO 4 /SnS 2 exhibited outstanding photocatalytic and anti-photocorrosion properties compared with those of Ag 3 PO 4 , Ag 3 PO 4 /SnS 2 and GO/Ag 3 PO 4 . RhB was thoroughly degraded over the optimized GO/Ag 3 PO 4 /SnS 2 nanocomposite after only 15 min under visible-light irradiation; this result is approximately 2.14, 3.33 and 5.83 times faster than that of GO/Ag 3 PO 4 , Ag 3 PO 4 /SnS 2 and Ag 3 PO 4 , respectively. After three reuses, the photocatalytic activity of the ternary composite slightly decreased but remained 2.36, 4.08 and 12.70 times higher than those of the reused GO/Ag 3 PO 4 , Ag 3 PO 4 /SnS 2 and Ag 3 PO 4 , respectively. In this system, the efficient separation and migration of the photoinduced current carriers in Ag 3 PO 4 was realized through a double Z-scheme electron-transfer mechanism in which the GO nanosheets acted as the photocatalyst and electron mediator, thereby enhancing the photoactivity and stability of Ag 3 PO 4 . The present study provides a new perspective for enhancing photocatalytic and anti-photocorrosion performances in perishable photocatalysts for organic sewage and other environmental contamination treatments.