Fabrication of WO₃-Ag₃PO₄ heterojunction on carbon cloth for efficient visible-light degradation of rhodamine B

Abstract

The WO₃-Ag₃PO₄ heterojunction on carbon cloth (CC@WO₃-Ag₃PO₄) was prepared through a facile two step approach. The photocatalysts are evaluated in the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation; CC@WO₃-Ag₃PO₄ exhibited enhanced photocatalytic RhB efficiency. The calculated k for the degradation of RhB over CC@WO₃@Ag₃PO₄ is 0.03097 min⁻¹, which is higher than those for reactions over CC@Ag₃PO₄ (0.01254 min⁻¹) and CC@WO₃ (0.00935 min⁻¹). The photocatalytic efficiency is significantly enhanced after formation of the CC@WO₃-Ag₃PO₄ heterojunction. This could be mainly attributed to improved photogenerated electron-hole pairs separation ability after formation of the CC@WO₃-Ag₃PO₄ heterojunction. Furthermore, the carbon cloth serving as support for photocatalyst can enhance the contact area of the photocatalyst with RhB solution and visible light due to its large specific surface area. Additionally, CC@WO₃-Ag₃PO₄ photocatalyst can be quickly and completely recycled, effectively avoiding recontamination.

Keywords:

• CC@WO₃-Ag₃PO₄
• heterojunction
• carbon cloth
• photocatalytic activity
• visible light

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Foundation of Department of Science and Technology of He’nan Province [Grant Nos. 212102210286, 212102210219 and 222102210172] and the Doctoral Scientific Research Foundation of Henan University of Science and Technology [Grant No. 400613480013].