Polydopamine-mediated interfacial optimization in WO3/@PDA/Ag3PO4 heterojunction for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants

To increase active sites, mitigate photo corrosion, expedite electron transfer and suppress the recombination of photogenerated charge carriers, we synthesized a WO 3 @PDA/Ag 3 PO 4 ternary composites using a straightforward method, where PDA served as adhesion interface and electronic transfer bridge. The photocatalytic activity of WO 3 @PDA/Ag 3 PO 4 was assessed by degrading organic pollutants under visible light. The results demonstrated that 0.5 g/L WO 3 @PDA/Ag 3 PO 4 could eliminate 30 mg/L of methyl orange (MO) within 60 min and achieve an 80.7 % degradation rate for moxifloxacin (Mox) within 180 min. After five adsorption-photocatalytic cycles, the WO 3 @PDA/Ag 3 PO 4 maintained a removal efficiency of 95.88 % for MO and 75.56 % for Mox, showcasing its cycling stability. The photocatalytic mechanism of WO 3 @PDA/Ag 3 PO 4 was elucidated through a series of characterizations, which indicated that the Z-type heterojunction formed between WO 3 and Ag 3 PO 4 , along with PDA's electron-conducting ability, provided a strong driving force for the photocatalytic reaction. This study introduces an idea for enhancing the construction of Z-type heterojunctions with PDA as the electron-conducting interface, thereby improving photocatalytic performance.