A novel synthesis of P/BiPO4 nanocomposites with enhanced visible-light photocatalysis

Using red phosphorus as precursors, P/BiPO4 composites were synthesised successfully via a facile hydrothermal method by the reaction between amorphous red (P) and Bi(NO3)3 aqueous solution without any additive. The phases structures, morphologies and optical properties of the obtained samples were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energydispersive X-ray (EDX), UV-Vis DRS and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). The P/BiPO4 composite photocatalyst displayed much higher photocatalytic performance for a typical dye pollutant methylene blue (MB) degradation than the BiPO4 synthesised by a typical method under simulated visible light (λ>400 nm) and exhibited more enhanced catalytic efficiency than BiPO4 synthesised by a typical method. The excellent performance can be attributed to the high separation capacity of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and demonstrated to be a promising photocatalytic material. © W. S. Maney & Son Ltd 2015.