Stable chitin whisker/Ag3PO4 composite photocatalyst with enhanced visible light induced photocatalytic activity

One-dimentional chitin whisker (ChW) was prepared by reflux method. Then, a novel composite material (ChW/Ag3PO4) was obtained by attaching Ag3PO4 nanoparticles on the surface of the ChW by simple chemical deposition. The photocatalytic activity and stability of the ChW/Ag3PO4 composite material for degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) showed obvious enhancement compared with that of pure Ag3PO4, attributing to the enhancement of visible-light absorption, the increase of active sites, the more effective separation between the photogenerated electrons and holes, and the faster transfer of photogenerated carriers. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.