Morphology-controlled synthesis of Ag₃PO₄ microcubes with enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity

Cubic Ag₃PO₄ microcrystals were synthesized by deposition-precipitation in the presence of ammonia. As-synthesized samples were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DSR). Visible-light-driven photocatalytic performance of the obtained Ag₃PO₄ was evaluated for photocatalytic degradation of typical organic dye molecules. Compared to irregular Ag ₃PO₄ materials prepared in the absence of ammonia, the prepared cubic samples exhibited a higher photocatalytic activity, suggesting the crucial role of the ammonia in the formation of cubic Ag₃PO ₄ microcrystals. In addition, the specific cubic morphology of Ag₃PO₄ sample contributes substantially to its highly efficient visible light photocatalytic performance. Moreover, photocatalytic degradation experiments of the cubic Ag₃PO₄ toward different organic dye molecules rhodamine B (RhB), methyl blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) were carried out. These results show that photo-generated active oxygen-containing superoxide radicals and photo-induced holes offer the major contribution to highly efficient visible light photocatalytic activity of Ag₃PO₄.