Light-dependent controlled synthesis and photocatalytic properties of stable Ag3 nanocrystals

Abstract The silver phosphate (Ag 3 PO 4 ) is applied in organic matter photodegradation as a novel catalyst materials, however, its instability reduces the photocatalytic life and limits its further applications. In this work, a series of Ag 3 PO 4 crystalline nanoparticle clusters have been synthesized by a photocontrol method. By comparing their sunlight photocatalytic properties, the Ag 3 PO 4 nanoparticles with dominant {2 2 0} facets have a lower surface energy (1.05 J m −2 ) than existing Ag 3 PO 4 crystals which can offer a longer catalyst service life. The photodegradation rate of the Ag 3 PO 4 nanoparticles is about 3 times that of common Ag 3 PO 4 bulk materials and the sunlight is used as the power source instead of high cost artificial visible light sources in this catalytic system. An effective continuous photodegradation reactor using Ag 3 PO 4 nanoparticles is successfully fabricated to degrade rhodamine B solution. At the same time, this work provides an example for how oxidation photocatalyst works without extra adding sacrificial reagent.