Application of silver phosphate-based photocatalysts: Barriers and solutions

Abstract Semiconductor photocatalysis is an extremely promising technology to deal with the far-reaching issues we need to face, such as the shortage of renewable-energy resources and the increasingly serious worldwide environmental problems. Ag 3 PO 4 is an excellent visible-light-driven photocatalyst, showing an extraordinary photoactivity for oxygen evolution in water splitting and degradation of pollutant in aqueous solution. However, due to the uncontrollable photocorrosion phenomenon, the Ag 3 PO 4 -based photocatalysis is still at laboratory scale. To remove the obstacles for practical application and to further improve its photocatalytic performance, this review summarized the achievements that have been made in this field. We began with an effort to introduce the reasons for Ag 3 PO 4 exhibiting excellent photocatalytic performance. Subsequently, the different synthesis methods of Ag 3 PO 4 were discussed. Finally, we outlined the barriers that hindered the practical application of Ag 3 PO 4 and proposed the ways to remove these barriers. This review also underlined the crucial problems that should be addressed prior to practical applications.