Heterostructured Ag3PO4/TiO2 nano-sheet film with high efficiency for photodegradation of methylene blue

Abstract Heterostructured Ag 3 PO 4 /TiO 2 nano-sheet film (Ag 3 PO 4 /TiO 2 NSF) was fabricated by depositing Ag 3 PO 4 particles on the surface of TiO 2 NSF through an impregnating-deposition method under room conditions. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), UV–vis absorption spectroscopy (UV–vis) and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). The photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light and UV light irradiation was investigated over Ag 3 PO 4 /TiO 2 NSFs with different Ag 3 PO 4 concentrations. Ag 3 PO 4 /TiO 2 NSF showed obviously superior photocatalytic degradation of MB due to the heterostructure of the catalyst which could improve the visible light absorption ability and the separation of photoexcited electron–hole pairs. The rate constant of MB degradation over the optimal sample (0.03 M Ag 3 PO 4 /TiO 2 NSF) was much faster than that of pure TiO 2 NSF by a factor of 22.00 and 8.45 under visible-light and UV light irradiation respectively.