title: Enhanced photoactivity on Ag/Ag3PO4 composites by plasmonic effect.
abstract: The work presented here deals with the photoreduction in metallic silver nanoparticles onto the surface of Ag(3)PO(4) and resulting photocatalytic activity enhancement toward degradation of dye molecules, namely Rhodamine B (Rh. B) as a model compound, from aqueous solution under UV or visible light irradiation. Our results clearly indicated that the photoactivity of Ag(3)PO(4) was significantly enhanced by depositing an optimum amount of silver nanoparticles, even though the adsorption kinetics rate and capacity decreased after the silver nanoparticles agglomerate extensively. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) excited between the silver nanoparticles and Rh. B interface is a physical origin and responsible for the boosted photoactivity, which strongly depends on the specific wavelength of the incident light. This work provides and suggests a novel scheme for Ag/Ag(3)PO(4) composites having plasmonic effect on the interface with detailed experimental and theoretical study.
authors.affiliation: Laser Research Group, Physics Department and Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: magondal@kfupm.edu.sa.
authors.forename: Mohammed Ashraf
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Gondal
authors.affiliation: Laser Research Group, Physics Department and Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia; College of Materials Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211100, China.
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Wei E I
authors.initials: WEI
authors.lastname: Sha
authors.affiliation: Laser Research Group, Physics Department and Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Zain Hassan
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Yamani
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D007700:Kinetics; D008027:Light; D010710:Phosphates / Q000737:chemistry*; D055668:Photochemical Processes; D012235:Rhodamines / Q000737:chemistry; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry*; D018030:Silver Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D010710:Phosphates; D012235:Rhodamines; D018030:Silver Compounds; D012834:Silver; C029773:rhodamine B; C039072:silver phosphate