Reduced Graphene Oxide-Doped Ag3PO4 Nanostructure as a High Efficiency Photocatalyst Under Visible Light

Preparation of thiourea derivative incorporated Ag3PO4 core shell for enhancement of photocatalytic degradation performance of organic dye under visible radiation light

Photocatalysis is a promising technique to reduce hazardous organic pollutants using semiconductors under visible light. However, previous studies have been concerned with the behavior of silver phosphate (Ag3PO4) as n-type semiconductors, and the problem of their instability is still under investigation. Herein, 4,4'-(((oxalylbis(azanediyl)) bis(carbonothioyl)) bis(azanediyl)) dibenzoic acid is synthesized by green method and used to enhance the photocatalytic behavior for Ag3PO4. The incorporated Ag3PO4 core-shell is prepared and characterized via XRD, FT-IR, Raman, TEM and BET. Besides, the thermal stability of the prepared core shell was investigated via TGA and DSC measurements. The optical properties and the energy band gap are determined using photoluminescence and DRS measurements. The photodegradation of methylene blue in the presence of the synthesized Ag3PO4 core-shell under visible light is examined using UV/Vis measurements. The effect of initial dye concentration and contact time are studied. In addition, the kinetic behavior of the selected dye during the photodegradation process shows a pseudo-first order reaction with rate constant of 0.015 min-1 for ZAg. The reusability of the Ag3PO4 core shell is evaluated, and the efficiency changed from 96.76 to 94.02% after three cycles, indicating efficient photocatalytic behavior with excellent stability.

Efficient electrochemical hydrogen evolution activity of nanostructured Ag3PO4/MoS2 heterogeneous composite catalyst

Hydrogen (H2) generation by electrochemical water splitting is a key technique for sustainable energy applications. Two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenide (MoS2) and silver phosphate (Ag3PO4) possess excellent electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) properties when they are combined together as a composite rather than individuals. Reports examining the HER activity by using Ag3PO4, especially, in combination with the 2D layered MoS2 are limited in literature. The weight fraction of MoS2 in Ag3PO4 is optimized for 1, 3, and 5 wt%. The Ag3PO4/1 wt % MoS2 combination exhibits enhanced HER activity with least overpotential of 235 mV among the other samples in the acidic medium. The synergistic effect of optimal nano-scale 2D layered MoS2 structure and Ag3PO4 is essential for creating higher electrochemical active surface area of 217 mF/cm2, and hence this leads to faster reaction kinetics in the HER. This work suggests the advantages of Ag3PO4/1 wt % MoS2 heterogeneous composite catalyst for electrochemical analysis and HER indicating lower resistivity and low Tafel slope value (179 mV/dec) among the prepared catalysts making it a promising candidate for its use in practical energy applications.

A novel approach for the synthesis of nanostructured Ag3PO4 from phosphate rock: high catalytic and antibacterial activities

BACKGROUND

Silver orthophosphate (Ag3PO4) has received enormous attention over the past few years for its higher visible light photocatalytic performance as well as for various organic pollutants degradation in aqueous media. Therefore, considerable efforts have been made to the synthesis of Ag3PO4 with high catalytic efficiency, long lifetime, and using low-cost inorganic precursors.

RESULTS

This article describes our efforts to develop a novel approach to synthesize of nanostructured silver phosphate (Ag3PO4) using phosphate rock as alternative and natural source of PO43- precursor ions. The catalytic experimental studies showed that the nanostructured Ag3PO4 exhibited excellent catalytic activity for reduction of p-nitrophenol in the presence of NaBH4 at room temperature. Furthermore, the antibacterial studies revealed that the obtained Ag3PO4 possess significant effect against E. Coli and S. Aureus bacteria.

CONCLUSION

The obtained results make the nanostructured Ag3PO4 prepared from natural phosphate as a highly promising candidate to be used as efficient catalyst and antibacterial agent.

Graphene/silver-based composites and coating on dead coral for degradation of organic pollution using the Z-scheme mechanism

A high-performance photocatalytic nanocomposite consisting of silver phosphate-based particles with GO and RGO was synthesized by co-precipitation and hydrothermal methods. Ag₃PO₄ was prepared by a co-precipitation method. The as-prepared Ag₃PO₄ nanocomposites were characterized by different analyses. The results demonstrated that the Ag₃PO₄ particles were well dispersed on the graphene-based surfaces. The photocatalytic performance of the GO/RGO/Ag₃PO₄ nanocomposite was evaluated for the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) under exposure to visible light (xenon lamp λ > 400 nm). The degradation rate was about 98% in 5 min. The enhancement in photocatalytic performance is attributed to the simultaneous presence of RGO and GO, which show significantly high absorption of organic molecules on the surface of GO/RGO, allowing the effective transfer and separation of photogenerated electrons. In addition, this modified structure can be in situ synthesized on dead coral structures that can be used in future real case-studies of the degradation of other organic pollutants. The ingredient of these composites, however, is about 93% Ag₃PO₄.

A high-performance photocatalytic nanocomposite consisting of silver phosphate-based particles with GO and RGO was synthesized by co-precipitation and hydrothermal methods.