Light-dependent controlled synthesis and photocatalytic properties of stable Ag3 nanocrystals

The silver phosphate (Ag3PO4) is applied in organic matter photodegradation as a novel catalyst materials, however, its instability reduces the photocatalytic life and limits its further applications. In this work, a series of Ag3PO4 crystalline nanoparticle clusters have been synthesized by a photocontrol method. By comparing their sunlight photocatalytic properties, the Ag3PO4 nanoparticles with dominant {2 2 0} facets have a lower surface energy (1.05 J m−2) than existing Ag3PO4 crystals which can offer a longer catalyst service life. The photodegradation rate of the Ag3PO4 nanoparticles is about 3 times that of common Ag3PO4 bulk materials and the sunlight is used as the power source instead of high cost artificial visible light sources in this catalytic system. An effective continuous photodegradation reactor using Ag3PO4 nanoparticles is successfully fabricated to degrade rhodamine B solution. At the same time, this work provides an example for how oxidation photocatalyst works without extra adding sacrificial reagent.