Ag3PO4 nanoparticles loaded on 3D flower-like spherical MoS2: a highly efficient hierarchical heterojunction photocatalyst.

Novel 3D hierarchical Ag3PO4/MoS2 composites were successfully prepared through a facile and reproducible hydrothermal-in situ precipitation method. The 3D flower-like spherical MoS2 nanoarchitectures acted as an excellent supporting matrix for the in situ growth of Ag3PO4 nanoparticles. The photocatalytic performance of the composites and the effect of the amount of MoS2 were investigated. The obtained hierarchical Ag3PO4/MoS2 composites exhibited significantly enhanced performance for photocatalytic oxidation of Rhodamine B (RhB) compared with pure Ag3PO4 under visible light irradiation. Ag3PO4/MoS2 composites with 15 wt% of MoS2 showed the optimal photoactivity for the degradation of RhB, which was approximately 4.8 times as high as that of pure Ag3PO4. What's more, the optimal Ag3PO4/MoS2 composite also showed better photodegradation efficiency for methyl orange (MO) and p-chlorophenol (4-CP) than pure Ag3PO4. More attractively, the stability of Ag3PO4 was improved after the in situ deposition of Ag3PO4 particles on the surface of MoS2 nanoflakes due to the conductivity of MoS2 itself as electron acceptors. The enhanced performance of the hierarchical Ag3PO4/MoS2 composites under visible light was caused by a synergistic effect including the improved separation of photogenerated charge carriers, boosted light harvesting, a relatively high surface area and matching energy band structures between the two components. Interestingly, the heterostructured Ag3PO4/MoS2 composite reduced the use of the noble metal silver, thereby effectively reducing the cost of the Ag3PO4 based photocatalyst. Ultimately, a MoS2 involved photocatalytic mechanism for the hierarchical Ag3PO4/MoS2 composites was also proposed.