Photodegradation of methyl orange using magnetically recoverable AgBr@Ag3PO4/Fe3O4 photocatalyst under visible light

Abstract

A novel magnetically recoverable AgBr@Ag3PO4/Fe 3O4 hybrid was prepared by a simple deposition- precipitation approach and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The results revealed that the photocatalytic activity and stability of AgBr@Ag3PO4/Fe3O4 composite toward decomposition of methyl orange (MO) dye were superior to those of pure Ag3PO4 under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic activity enhancement of AgBr@Ag3PO4/Fe 3O4 is closely related to the efficient separation of electron-hole pairs derived from the matching band potentials between Ag 3PO4 and AgBr, as well as the good conductivity of Fe 3O4. Moreover, the photocatalyst could be easily separated by applying an external magnetic field due to its magnetic property. The quenching effects of different scavengers proved that active h+ and O 2 • - played the major role for the MO degradation. This work would provide new insight for the construction of visible light responsible photocatalysts with high performance, good stability, and recoverability. © 2014 Zhen Wang et al.