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 Ag3PO4 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 Ag3PO4 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.