In situ growth of Ag3PO4 on N-BiPO4 nanorod: A core-shell heterostructure for high performance photocatalyst.

Enhanced light absorption and effective separation of photogenerated charges are the main strategies to improve the performance of photocatalytic materials. In this study, Ag3PO4/N-doped BiPO4 (N-BiPO4) core-shell structure photocatalyst was synthesized by a simple in-situ growth strategy in an organic solvent. The separation of photogenerated electron-hole was enhanced by the doping of nitrogen, because of the emergence of N-O impurity energy levels. The increased photocatalytic activity of Ag3PO4/N-BiPO4 could be attributed to the in-situ formation of chemical bonds between Ag3PO4 and N-BiPO4, which accelerate the separation of electron-hole pairs. The photocatalytic performance of the as-synthesized Ag3PO4/N-BiPO4 was evaluated by monitoring the decolorization of methyl orange under sunlight irradiation. Ag3PO4/N-BiPO4 was capable of bleaching 95% MO within 40min.