Highly Enhanced Photocatalytic Performances of Composites Consisting of Silver Phosphate and N-Doped Carbon Nanomesh for Oxytetracycline Degradation

Photocatalytic technology based on silver phosphate (Ag3PO4) has excellent potential in removing antibiotic pollutants, but the low separation rate of photogenerated hole-electron pairs restricts the application of the photocatalyst. In this study, it was found that the combination of nitrogen-doped carbon (NDC) with carbon defects and Ag3PO4 can significantly enhance the photocatalytic ability of Ag3PO4. After it was exposed to visible light for 5 min, the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of oxytetracycline (OTC) by the composite photocatalyst Ag3PO4@NDC could reach 100%. In addition, the structure of NDC, Ag3PO4, and Ag3PO4@NDC was systematically characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, Raman, and EPR. The XPS results revealed intense interface interaction between Ag3PO4 and NDC, and electrons would transfer from Ag3PO4 to the NDC surface. A possible mechanism for enhancing the photocatalytic reaction of the Ag3PO4@NDC composite catalyst was proposed. This study provides a highly efficient visible light catalytic material, which can be a valuable reference for designing and developing a new highly efficient visible light catalyst.