Ag3PO4-TiO2-Carbon nanofiber Composite: An efficient Visible-light photocatalyst obtained from electrospinning and hydrothermal methods

Abstract

In this contribution, we synthesized Ag3PO4-TiO2 NPs assembled carbon nanofibers (Ag3PO4-TiO2-CNFs) photocatalyst by the combination of electrospinning and hydrothermal processes. The photocatalyst was characterized by various techniques such as SEM, TEM, XRD, UV, PL, etc. The morphological examination by SEM and TEM revealed a uniform distribution of the Ag3PO4 NPs over the TiO2-CNFs surface. Compared to TiO2 NFs, the loading of Ag3PO4 NPs into the TiO2-CNFs composite enhances its absorbance to the visible light region and offers a route with low resistance for charge separation. The photocatalytic performance of the Ag3PO4-TiO2-CNFs composite was studied by a methylene blue (MB) degradation test under visible light irradiation. It was observed that the Ag3PO4-TiO2-CNFs composite exhibited significantly enhanced photocatalytic performance as compared to the pristine Ag3PO4 NPs and TiO2 NFs. The Ag3PO4-TiO2-CNFs composite eliminated the entire MB dye within 10 min of visible light irradiation. Also, the reusability test indicated that the photocatalyst possesses excellent stability. The high photocatalytic activity is attributed to the increased surface area, enhanced visible light response, accelerated charge separation, and dye adsorption property of the composite material. Furthermore, the photocatalyst showed good antibacterial property against Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. The excellent dyes removal ability and the good antibacterial property of the as-prepared Ag3PO4-TiO2-CNFs photocatalyst show the potentiality of the material in wastewater treatment.