Highly efficient heterojunction photocatalyst based on nanoporous g-C3N4 sheets modified by Ag3PO4 nanoparticles: Synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic activity

[Display omitted] •Novel Ag3PO4/porous g-C3N4 heterojunction photocatalysts were synthesized.•Ag3PO4 nanoparticles with controlled size were well dispersed on the g-C3N4.•The heterojunction shows enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity.•The enhanced activity was due to improved interfacial charge transfer.•The degradation of RhB was mainly via the direct hole oxidation mechanism. Novel visible-light-driven heterojunction photocatalyst composed by Ag3PO4 nanoparticles and nanoporous graphitic carbon nitride sheets (Ag3PO4/p-g-C3N4) was synthesized by a facile and green method. The results showed that photocatalytic activity of Ag3PO4/p-g-C3N4 was much higher than that of pure p-g-C3N4 in the photodegradation of Rhodamine B under visible light irradiation. The kinetic constant of Rhodamine B degradation over Ag3PO4 (33.3mol%)/p-g-C3N4 was about 5 and 2 times higher than that over pure p-g-C3N4 and Ag3PO4, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic performance is attributed to the stronger visible light absorption and the heterojunction between Ag3PO4 nanoparticles and p-g-C3N4, which could induce the low recombination rate of photoinduced electron–hole pairs.