Fabrication and characterization of Ag₃PO₄/TiO₂ heterostructure with improved visible-light photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methyl orange and sterilization of <i>E.coli</i>

Abstract

Ag3PO4/TiO2 heterostructure photocatalysts were prepared by the hydrolysis of TiCl4 and NH3· H2O, microwave calcination, and chemical precipitation method. A series of techniques, such as XRD, SEM, TEM, DRS, FT-IR, PL and XPS, were used to characterize the Ag3PO4/TiO2 heterostructure. The as-prepared Ag3PO4/TiO2 heterostructure was employed to degrade methyl orange and to inactivate E.coli under visible light irradiation, which exhibited high photocatalytic activity, could degrade 95.5 % of MO and kill almost all the E.coli. Recycling experiments confirmed that the Ag3PO4/TiO2 heterostructure had superior cycle performance and structural stability. The photocatalytic activity enhancement of Ag3PO4/TiO2 heterostructure could be mainly attributed to the improved light absorption and the efficient separation of photo-induced electron–hole pairs. This study provided a new way to design and prepare high efficiency and stable photocatalysts for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and photocatalytic sterilization of E.coli.