Synthesis of BiIO4/Ag3PO4 nanocomposite with enhanced photocatalytic activity for degradation of phenol

A novel BiIO4/Ag3PO4 nanocomposite photocatalyst was synthesized through hydrothermal and chemical precipitation methods. The as-prepared samples were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and ultraviolet visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Moreover, the photocatalytic activity was evaluated by degradation of phenol under visible light irradiation. BiIO4/Ag3PO4 nanocomposite exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than BiIO4 and Ag3PO4, with 5% BiIO4/Ag3PO4 nanocomposite displaying the highest activity. The enhanced photocatalytic performance may be due to the formation of BiIO4/Ag3PO4 heterojunction interface, which is beneficial to the separation and migration of the photogenerated electrons and holes. In addition, the active species trapping experiment demonstrated that •O2− and •OH were the major active species during the photocatalytic process.