Graphene oxide wrapped Ag₃PO₄ sub-microparticles with highly enhanced photocatalytic activity and stability under visible light irradiation

Highlights: • Graphene oxide wrapped Ag₃PO₄ sub-microparticles were prepared. • The photocatalytic activity of Ag₃PO₄ is increased by 6 times by GO wrapping. • The hybrid photocatalysts exhibited excellent stability. - Abstract: Graphene oxide (GO) wrapped Ag₃PO₄ sub-microparticles were prepared by in situ deposition–precipitation method. By hybridization of Ag₃PO₄ with GO nanosheets, a 6-fold enhancement in the photodegradation rate toward orange methyl (MO) under visible light irradiation (λ ≥ 420 nm) was observed compared with the pure Ag₃PO₄ sub-microsparticles. The hybrid photocatalysts also exhibited excellent stability in the successive MO degradation experiments. The highly enhanced photocatalytic activity and stability were mainly attributed to the quick transfer of the photogenerated electrons from Ag₃PO₄ to GO nanosheets, which could effectively suppress the electron–hole pairs recombination and thus inhibit the photocorrosion of Ag₃PO₄. These high-efficient and stable hybrid photocatalysts were expected to show considerable potential applications in wastewater treatment and water splitting