Insight into the enhanced photocatalytic performance of Ag3PO4 modified metastable hexagonal WO3

A metastable hexagonal WO 3 (h-WO 3 ) was prepared by a hydrothermal reduction method with glycerol and the Ag 3 PO 4 /h-WO 3 composites were synthesized via a precipitation method. Several techniques were employed to characterize the Ag 3 PO 4 /h-WO 3 composites. Compared to the Ag 3 PO 4 /WO 3 photocatalysts, the Ag 3 PO 4 /h-WO 3 photocatalysts exhibited an excellent visible light photocatalytic performance for efficient degradation of methyl orange (MO). The analysis results showed that the favorable photocatalytic performance of the Ag 3 PO 4 /h-WO 3 composites were mainly attributed to the h + and O 2 − generated during the recycles of W 6+ and W 5+ . Furthermore, under the same conditions, the Ag 3 PO 4 /h-WO 3 composites showed better stability than pure Ag 3 PO 4 photocatalyst for degradation of MO, indicating that h-WO 3 played an important role in the process of degradation. Based on the results of trapping experiments and XPS characterization analysis, the photocatalytic mechanism of the Ag 3 PO 4 /h-WO 3 composites were proposed.