LAUSR

A comparative study was carried out on the photocatalytic properties depending on Jodifferent morphologies of Ag3PO4 fabricated by different methods, i.e. as precipitated, oil bath heat treatment, hydrothermal, and microwave-assisted hydrothermal. The crystal structures of the prepared samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction. The different morphologies of Ag3PO4 synthesized by different methods were observed from SEM micrographs. The micrographs show that the as-precipitated Ag3PO4 sample has smaller grain morphology whereas samples synthesized by other methods have distinct large-grain morphologies. Sharp-edged rhombic dodecahedron, cubic and polyhedral Ag3PO4 crystals were observed that were synthesized by microwave-assisted hydrothermal and hydrothermal methods. However, sharp-edged polyhedral Ag3PO4 crystals were not observed from the oil bath heat-treatment method. The optical properties of the different samples were measured by using UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The samples fabricated by the microwave-assisted hydrothermal process showed better photocatalytic decoloring of methylene blue than those prepared by the hydrothermal and oil bath heat-treatment methods.Graphical Abstract