Synthesis and characterization of high efficiency and stable spherical Ag 3 PO 4 visible light photocatalyst for the degradation of methylene blue solutions

A facile method for the synthesis of Ag3PO4 visible light photocatalyst has been developed to improve the photocatalytic activity and stability. The as-prepared samples are investigated by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy techniques. The results reveal that the prepared Ag3PO4 has cube structure with a band gap of 2.26 eV. The as-prepared samples show higher photocatalytic activity for methylene blue (MB) degradation than that of N-TiO2 under visible light irradiation.