Role of polyaniline on the photocatalytic degradation and stability performance of the polyaniline/silver/silver phosphate composite under visible light.

Polyaniline/silver/silver phosphate (PANI/Ag/Ag3PO4) composite was prepared by in situ depositing silver phosphate (Ag3PO4) nanoparticles on the surface of polyaniline (PANI). The best photocatalytic Rhodamine B degradation performance is obtained by the 20 wt % PANI/Ag/Ag3PO4 composite, which is approximately 4 times higher than that of pure Ag3PO4. Meanwhile, the photocatalytic stability of Ag3PO4 is significantly improved by introducing PANI into the PANI/Ag/Ag3PO4 composite. The dramatic promotion of the photocatalytic degradation performance and the photocatalytic stability can be attributed to the formation of a heterojunction electric field between PANI and Ag3PO4, which is approximately 90 mV and points from Ag3PO4 to PANI. The existence of this electric field can dramatically enhance the separation efficiency of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs, accelerate the transfer of photogenerated holes from Ag3PO4 to PANI and therefore inhibit the self-oxidation of Ag3PO4.