Facile Synthesis of a Novel Tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP)/Ag₃PO₄ Heterostructure Material for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation

ABSTRACT A new TPP/Ag 3 PO 4 photocatalyst composite was synthesized for the first time via simple doping. A series of the new type of composite materials with different mass ratios were prepared by doping silver phosphate obtained by precipitation onto 5,10,15,20‐tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) through a simple physical agitation method. Photocatalytic performance optimization led to the identification of a 1:10 composite mass ratio as optimal. It was found that the catalytic degradation efficiency of RhB was close to 100%, and the efficiency could still reach 92.04% after repeated catalysis. SEM imaging reveals that Ag 3 PO 4 particles are evenly distributed across the expansive planar morphology of TPP. The successful combination of the two materials and excellent photoelectric performance of the composite material were further validated through XRD, SEM‐EDS, XPS, EIS, and other analyses. Experimental studies on the degradation mechanism showed that •O 2 − played a leading role in its photocatalytic degradation of RhB. It is found that the organic heterojunction structure formed by TPP and Ag 3 PO 4 , and depending on the low potential of the LUMO orbital of TPP, can effectively inhibit the recombination of photogenerated carriers in the catalyst, ensuring the smooth transfer of photogenerated carriers in the material. Therefore, the material demonstrates both exceptional photocatalytic performance and excellent reusability.