Shape-controllable synthesis and morphology-dependent photocatalytic properties of Ag3PO4 crystals

A novel and facile soft-chemical method has been proposed for the synthesis of Ag3PO4 crystals with various new morphologies (branch, tetrapod, nanorod, triangular prism), and the morphological effect on the photocatalytic activity of the obtained Ag3PO4 crystals has been investigated. It is demonstrated that the morphology of Ag3PO4 crystals can be controlled by simply adjusting external experimental conditions such as static and ultrasonic conditions. Photocatalytic results indicate that the branched Ag3PO4 crystal with porous structure shows the highest photocatalytic activity among these Ag3PO4 crystals with multiform morphologies, and the photocatalytic rate constants of branched Ag3PO4 are 2.8 and 4 times those of irregular spherical Ag3PO4 for degradation of methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB) dye solutions under visible light irradiation, respectively.