The phenomena and mechanism for the enhanced adsorption and photocatalytic decomposition of organic dyes with Ag₃PO₄/graphene oxide aerogel composites

Ag₃PO₄/graphene oxide aerogel composites were fabricated by a hydrothermal method. The structure of Ag₃PO₄ and graphene oxide aerogel was investigated by XRD and Raman spectrum. The specific surface area of Ag₃PO₄, graphene oxide aerogel, and Ag₃PO₄/graphene oxide aerogel composites was investigated by the BET method. The adsorption and photocatalytic properties of Ag₃PO₄/graphene oxide aerogel composites were studied in Methylene Blue solution. The results showed that the existence of graphene oxide aerogel among Ag₃PO₄ could increase the specific surface area, adsorption performance, and photocatalytic performance of the composites. A higher percentage of graphene oxide aerogel resulted in higher adsorption capacity of Ag₃PO₄/graphene oxide aerogel composites, while an optimum percentage of graphene oxide aerogel was required for the maximum photocatalytic performance of the composites.