Influence of annealing temperature on visible-light photocatalytic activities of Ag_3PO_4 particulates synthesized using CH_3COOAg as a precursor

摘要

Ag_3PO_4 microparticles(MPs) were prepared through a facile chemical precipitation route and using silver acetate(AgAc) as metal salt. The effect of annealing temperature(T_a) and time(τ_a) on the actual photocatalytic(PC) activity of Ag_3PO_4 MPs is investigated. The optimal annealing parameters are T_a of 400 ℃ and τ_a of 90 min. The enhanced PC activity by annealing at 400 ℃ is ascribed to the increase of electron mobility. Besides, an Ag_3PO_4 photoelectrode was fabricated through a drop-coating deposition route, which demonstrates a photocurrent density of 80 μA/cm^2 and acceptable stability. The n-type conduction behavior of Ag_3PO_4 is verified by a Mott-Schottky(M-S) plot.