Photodegradation of Methyl Orange Using Magnetically Recoverable AgBr@Ag₃PO₄/Fe₃O₄ Photocatalyst under Visible Light

Abstract

A novel magnetically recoverable AgBr@Ag 3 PO 4 /Fe 3 O 4 hybrid was prepared by a simple deposition‐precipitation approach and characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and UV‐Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The results revealed that the photocatalytic activity and stability of AgBr@Ag 3 PO 4 /Fe 3 O 4 composite toward decomposition of methyl orange (MO) dye were superior to those of pure Ag 3 PO 4 under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic activity enhancement of AgBr@Ag 3 PO 4 /Fe 3 O 4 is closely related to the efficient separation of electron‐hole pairs derived from the matching band potentials between Ag 3 PO 4 and AgBr, as well as the good conductivity of Fe 3 O 4 . Moreover, the photocatalyst could be easily separated by applying an external magnetic field due to its magnetic property. The quenching effects of different scavengers proved that active h + and played the major role for the MO degradation. This work would provide new insight for the construction of visible light responsible photocatalysts with high performance, good stability, and recoverability.