One-pot synthesis of Ag₃PO₄/MoS₂ nanocomposite with highly efficient photocatalytic activity

In this work, Ag₃PO₄ nanoparticles were successfully decorated on graphene-like MoS₂ sheet by one-pot hydrothermal method. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Photoluminescence (PL), and Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectroscopy techniques were employed for the characterization of the prepared sample. The as-synthesized Ag₃PO₄ decorated MoS₂ (Ag₃PO₄/MoS₂) composite exhibited higher visible-light photocatalytic activity and stability toward the degradation of methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution, as compared to Ag₃PO₄ particles and pristine MoS₂. The high photocatalytic stability is due to the successful inhibition of the photocorrosion of Ag₃PO₄ by transferring the photogenerated electrons of Ag₃PO₄to MoS₂.