Effect of Ag⁺and PO₄ ^{3 -}ratios on the microstructure and photocatalytic activity of Ag₃PO₄

In this work, the catalyst silver phosphate (Ag₃PO₄) with different initial ratios of Ag⁺and PO₄ ^{3 -}in aqueous solution was synthesized by a simple precipitation method from AgNO₃and NH₄H₂PO₄which were used as the precursor. After that, the prepared samples were characterized by different techniques such as field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS) and decomposition evolution of rhodamine B (RhB) solution. The results indicate that the initial ratios of Ag⁺/PO₄ ^{3 -}in aqueous solution can modify the morphology and also it can significantly affect the photocatalytic performance. During photocatalytic process, the rich Ag⁺ion Ag₃PO₄can form the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of Ag nanoparticles, which inhibit the reduction of Ag₃PO₄resulting in higher photocatalytic activity and stability.