Immobilization of Ag3PO4 nanoparticles on chitosan fiber for photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange

Ag3PO4 and chitosan fiber (CF) composites were successfully fabricated using an in situ growth technique. The structure and properties of the obtained Ag3PO4/CF composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy, and UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. SEM results suggested that the 50–500 nm Ag3PO4 particles grew on the CF surface into a spherical or dentate shape. Photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) solution was used as a typical reaction to evaluate the visible-light photocatalytic performance of the Ag3PO4/CF composites. The reaction results indicated that the Ag3PO4/CF composites-3 exhibited excellent photodegradation efficiency, with 93.8% removal of the MO solution. The effects of MO concentrations and cycling runs on the photocatalytic performance of the Ag3PO4/CF composites were evaluated as well.