Wet chemical synthesis of type-II red phosphorus and evaluation of its photocatalytic activity using a non-dye degradation method

Abstract

Crystalline allotropes of red phosphorus are known to be synthesized from commercial amorphous red phosphorus (a-RP) by solid-state method. This method requires high temperatures, vacuum, and unsafe operating conditions. Hence, simple synthetic approaches and yet give good crystalline allotropes of red phosphorus need to be explored. We describe such a simple synthesis method to obtain less explored crystalline type-II red phosphorus (type-II RP) using 1,2-diaminopropane by solvothermal method. Formation of type-II RP was confirmed with X-Ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and Raman characterizations. Its photocatalytic activity was examined by a non-dye degradation method using formaldehyde as a probe molecule under direct sunlight.