A novel Bi(4)Ti(3)O(12)/Ag(3)PO(4) heterojunction photocatalyst with enhanced photocatalytic performance

In this work, we integrated Ag(3)PO(4) with Bi(4)Ti(3)O(12) to form Bi(4)Ti(3)O(12)/Ag(3)PO(4) heterojunction nanocomposites by an ion-exchange method. The as-prepared Bi(4)Ti(3)O(12)/Ag(3)PO(4) composites were systematically characterized by means of XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, XPS, UV-vis DRS, EIS, PL spectroscopy, and photocurrent response. SEM, TEM, and XPS results demonstrate the creation of Bi(4)Ti(3)O(12)/Ag(3)PO(4) heterojunction with obvious interfacial interaction between Bi(4)Ti(3)O(12) and Ag(3)PO(4). PL spectra, EIS spectra, and photocurrent responses reveal that the composites display an enhanced separation efficiency of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, which is due to the charge transfer between Bi(4)Ti(3)O(12) and Ag(3)PO(4). Rhodamine B (RhB) was chosen as the target organic pollutant to evaluate its degradation behavior over Bi(4)Ti(3)O(12)/Ag(3)PO(4) composites under simulated sunlight irradiation. Compared to bare Bi(4)Ti(3)O(12) and Ag(3)PO(4) nanoparticles, the composites exhibit a significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity. The highest photocatalytic activity is observed for the 10% Bi(4)Ti(3)O(12)/Ag(3)PO(4) composite with 10% Bi(4)Ti(3)O(12) content, which is about 2.6 times higher than that of bare Ag(3)PO(4). The photocatalytic mechanism involved was investigated and discussed in detail.