Construction of Ag 3 PO 4 /TiO 2 nano-tube arrays photoelectrode and its enhanced visible light driven photocatalytic decomposition of diclofenac

Abstract

This work shows results of our investigation on Ag3PO4/TiO2 NTAs photoelectrode photodegradation properties to diclofenac with visible light illumination. The composite photoelectrode has been synthesized by ultrasound-precipitation strategy and characterized through scanning electrons microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In addition, photoelectrochemical and visible photocatalytic activity properties of as-prepared samples were investigated to prove the fact. Compared with pure TiO2 NTAs, Ag3PO4/TiO2 NTAs photoelectrode possesses the enhancement of light absorbance in the visible region and a lower recombination rate of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, so that it performed a better visible light photocatalytic property. Additionally, prepared Ag3PO4/TiO2 NTAs photoelectrode has well recyclability. On the basis of electrochemical, fluorescence spectra and photoluminescence, the photocatalytic performance enhancement mechanism for Ag3PO4/TiO2 NTAs was put forward.