LAUSR

Abstract Ag3PO4/MoO3 p-n heterojunction have been successfully fabricated by using a simple in situ solvent method. SEM, TEM, XRD, XPS and electrochemical techniques were used to study the structural and electrochemical characteristics of the resulting materials. The photocatalytic activity of the obtained composite was tested by the degradation of organic dye (methylene blue) under visible-light irradiation. The photocatalytic activity of Ag3PO4/MoO3 remained 92.5% after four recycling runs, which was much higher than that of the pure Ag3PO4 (54%). The obtained results confirm that the novel Ag3PO4/MoO3 heterostructure exhibited significantly higher photocatalytic activities and improved stability compared with bare Ag3PO4. The excellent photocatalytic activity came from the effective separation of the electron-hole pairs under the effect of built-in electric field in the interfacial the of the p-n heterojunction, and then made the holes more available for dyes oxidation.