The photocatalytic activity of graphene oxide/Ag₃PO₄ nano-composite: Loading effect

Graphene oxide (GO)/Ag₃PO₄ nano-composite was successfully prepared by wet chemical technique. Samples were synthesized with three different concentrations of the GO. The structural studies such as grain size, dislocation density and lattice strain were performed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The surface chemical state and doping process has been investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The evaluation of conduction band (CB), valance band (VB), direct and indirect band gap was performed through diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). Surface morphology was observed through the field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The obtained characterization results confirmed the formation of GO/Ag₃PO₄ composite with slight decrease in the band gap based on the amount of GO incorporated inside the GO/Ag₃PO₄ nano-composites. The photocatalytic performance of the prepared materials was evaluated in the decolourization reaction of methyl orange dye under the illumination of visible light radiation. The obtained photocatalytic results indicated that the addition of GO to Ag₃PO₄ has improved its photocatalytic performance. The sample with small GO loading exhibited remarkable photocatalytic performance than the neat Ag₃PO₄, i.e. the rate constant was almost 3.5 times higher.