Uyi Sulaeman, Dea Ajeng Rahma Winarto Putri, Rini Larasati, Ari Asnani, Eva Vaulina Yulistia Delsy, Isnaeni Isnaeni, Shu Yin
The synthesis of visible-light-responsive photocatalysts has attracted considerable attention in the fields of environmental remediation and energy conversion. Among them, silver orthophosphate (Ag 3 PO 4 ) is a promising material due to its strong oxidizing ability; however, its photocatalytic activity is limited by rapid charge recombination and high photo-corrosion. To solve this problem, natural chlorophyll from Catappa leaf ( Terminalia catappa L.) was incorporated to design an Ag 3 PO 4 /Chlorophyll (AP/Chl) composite. This composite was synthesized using the coprecipitation method. The composite was characterized using XRD, SEM-EDX, TEM, UV-Vis DRS, PL spectra, Raman spectra, and XPS. The coprecipitation of chlorophyll on Ag 3 PO 4 surface leads to a decrease in the binding energy of Ag 3d, which indicates an increase in the electron density around the Ag species. This phenomenon demonstrates the formation of strong interfacial interactions between Ag 3 PO 4 and chlorophyll, which facilitates charge transfer. The photocatalytic ability of AP/Chl towards methylene blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation was 6.05 and 2.56 times faster compared to pristine Ag 3 PO 4 , respectively. This improvement was attributed to the formation of a Z-scheme, which reduces charge recombination. Chlorophyll can act effectively as a sensitizer, offering a simple, environmentally friendly strategy to enhance the photocatalytic efficiency of Ag₃PO₄-based systems.