Ag3PO4/TiO2 heterostructures with enhanced photocatalytic activity

Heterostructured Ag3PO4/TiO2 composites have been fabricated via an in situ precipitation method by depositing Ag3PO4 nanoparticles onto the surface of TiO2 microspheres. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the Ag3PO4/TiO2 heterostructures for the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under UV light irradiation could be attributed to the effective separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs driven by the photoinduced potential difference generated at the Ag3PO4/TiO2 heterojunction interface. Furthermore, when 10 at% (molar percentage) of Ag3PO4 is loaded onto the TiO2 surface, the Ag3PO4/TiO2 composites exhibit the best photocatalytic activity and the rate constant of RhB degradation is over three times that of pure TiO2. In addition, the mechanism for the enhancement of the photocatalytic activity of Ag3PO4/TiO2 is also investigated by comparison of their PL spectra.