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Synthesis of ZnWO4/Ag3PO4: p–n heterojunction photocatalyst with enhanced visible-light degradation performance of RhB

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Abstract

A precipitation process was used to produce Ag3PO4 with an irregular small polyhedral structure and an average size of 200–300 nm. Furthermore, using a simple dissolution precipitation technique, polyhedral Ag3PO4 was successfully deposited on the surface of ZnWO4. XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, UV–Vis DRS, and FT-IR spectroscopy were employed to analyze ZnWO4/Ag3PO4 composites. The photocatalytic oxidation ability of composites was assessed using Rhodamine B dye degradation model. The results revealed that ZnWO4/Ag3PO4 composite material displayed improved visible-light photocatalytic activity, with 7% ZnWO4/Ag3PO4 exhibiting the maximum photocatalytic activity. The degradation rate of RhB was 94.0% after 120 min of visible-light irradiation. Nyquist plot indicates that 7% ZnWO4/Ag3PO4 composites show the smallest diameter, suggesting a more effective separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and faster interface charge transfer. The photocatalytic activity of ZnWO4/Ag3PO4 composites does not deteriorate considerably after four cycles, indicating their high stability. The active species capture tests show that h+ and •OH are possible reactive species in the degradation reaction. Finally, the p-n heterojunction mechanism is proved by the discussion of the band structure. This study demonstrates that ZnWO4/Ag3PO4 photocatalytic composites can be utilized to degrade contaminants.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article. The authors declare that [the/all other] data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Hunan Province Strategic New Major Project (2019GK4041) and Changsha Science and Technology Plan Project (kq1907095).

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  1. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Changsha University of Science and Technology, Changsha, 410114, People’s Republic of China

    Mengtian Duan, Daoxin Wu, Jialun Wu & Haixia Tong

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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data curation, data collection, and the first draft of the manuscript was written by M-tD, Formal and analysis were performed by J-lW, and review and supervision were performed by D-xW and H-xT. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Haixia Tong.

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Duan, M., Wu, D., Wu, J. et al. Synthesis of ZnWO4/Ag3PO4: p–n heterojunction photocatalyst with enhanced visible-light degradation performance of RhB. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 33, 7543–7558 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-022-07898-3

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