Insight into the enhanced photocatalytic performance of Ag3PO4 modified metastable hexagonal WO3

• Published in: Colloids and surfaces. A, Physicochemical and engineering aspects Physicochemical and engineering aspects, 2018-03, Vol.541, p.145-153
• Main Authors: Wang, Lianwei, Liu, Jianxin, Wang, Yawen, Zhang, Xiaochao, Duan, Donghong, Fan, Caimei, Wang, Yunfang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ag3PO4/h-WO3; Metastable hexagonal WO3; Photocatalytic mechanism; Reduction method
• ISSN: 0927-7757; 1873-4359
• DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2018.01.021

[Display omitted] •Using glycerol as the reducing agent, a metastable hexagonal WO3 of substoichiometry was prepared.•The Ag3PO4/h-WO3 composites display superior photocatalytic activity.•The cycle of W5+/W6+ can effectively improve the utilization of photogenerated electrons.•The photocatalytic reaction mechanism of Ag3PO4/h-WO3 was proposed. A metastable hexagonal WO3 (h-WO3) was prepared by a hydrothermal reduction method with glycerol and the Ag3PO4/h-WO3 composites were synthesized via a precipitation method. Several techniques were employed to characterize the Ag3PO4/h-WO3 composites. Compared to the Ag3PO4/WO3 photocatalysts, the Ag3PO4/h-WO3 photocatalysts exhibited an excellent visible light photocatalytic performance for efficient degradation of methyl orange (MO). The analysis results showed that the favorable photocatalytic performance of the Ag3PO4/h-WO3 composites were mainly attributed to the h+ and O2− generated during the recycles of W6+ and W5+. Furthermore, under the same conditions, the Ag3PO4/h-WO3 composites showed better stability than pure Ag3PO4 photocatalyst for degradation of MO, indicating that h-WO3 played an important role in the process of degradation. Based on the results of trapping experiments and XPS characterization analysis, the photocatalytic mechanism of the Ag3PO4/h-WO3 composites were proposed.