Ag3PO4/ZnO nanostructured composites fabricated through electrospun and co-mixing methods with enhanced photocatalytic activities

The novel Ag3PO4/ZnO nanocomposite photocatalyst was fabricated by the combination of electrospun and co-mixing methods. The surface morphologies, structures, compositions, chemical states and optical properties of photocatalysts were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. When the mass ratio of Ag3PO4 to ZnO was controlled to 5:8, the composite photocatalyst exhibited the best performance by the decomposition of rhodamine B (Rh-B) dye under visible light. The enhanced photocatalytic activities can be ascribed to the synergistic effect between Ag3PO4 and ZnO, and a possible Z-scheme mechanism was demonstrated.