Abstract
Present work reports the enhancement in photocatalytic performance of Ag3PO4 nanoparticles through sulfate doping and anchoring on Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-electrospun nanofibers (SO42−-Ag3PO4/PAN-electrospun nanofibers) via electrospinning followed by ion-exchange reaction. Morphology, structure, chemical composition, and optical properties of the prepared sample were characterized using XRD, FESEM, FTIR, XPS, and DRS. The anchoring of SO42−-Ag3PO4 nanoparticles on the surface of PAN-electrospun nanofibers was evidenced by the change in color of the PAN nanofibers mat from white to yellow after ion-exchange reaction. FESEM analysis revealed the existence of numerous SO42−-Ag3PO4 nanoparticles on the surface of PAN nanofibers. Photocatalytic activity and stability of the prepared sample was tested for the degradation of Methylene blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RhB) dyes under visible light irradiation for three continuous cycles. Experimental results showed enhanced photodegradation activity of SO42−-Ag3PO4/PAN-electrospun nanofibers compared to that of sulfate undoped sample (Ag3PO4/PAN-electrospun nanofibers). Doping of SO42− into Ag3PO4 crystal lattice could increase the photogenerated electron–hole separation capability, and PAN nanofibers served as support for nanoparticles to prevent from agglomeration.
Highlights
The breakthrough work carried out by Yi et al [1] opened a new door to engineer and synthesize silver phosphate (Ag3PO4)-based photocatalysts with enhanced performance that can find potential applications in dye photodegradation, hydrogen evolution, and killing microbes [2,3,4,5]
Generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) are responsible for its photocatalytic activities [6,7]
It is reported that semiconductor material doped with suitable ions could prevent the recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and increases its stability and photocatalytic performance [19]
Summary
The breakthrough work carried out by Yi et al [1] opened a new door to engineer and synthesize silver phosphate (Ag3PO4)-based photocatalysts with enhanced performance that can find potential applications in dye photodegradation, hydrogen evolution, and killing microbes [2,3,4,5]. Successive investigations have been carried out for designing and fabricating Ag3PO4-based photocatalysts to overcome this limitation and improve their performance In this regard, various studies have been reported, such as fabricating composites [9,10,11,12,13], coupling with other semiconductor materials [14,15] and doping suitable ions [16,17,18]. It is reported that semiconductor material doped with suitable ions could prevent the recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and increases its stability and photocatalytic performance [19]. Visible light photocatalytic activity of as fabricated sample was evaluated by observing photodegradation of MB and RhB dye solutions We hope this visible-light-driven photocatalyst would be a promising candidate for the degradation of organic dyes from waste water to avoid negative effects to the dependent living ecology. To the best of our knowledge this type of work has not been reported so far
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