Graphene dispersed and surface plasmon resonance-enhanced Ag₃PO₄ (DSPR-Ag₃PO₄) for visible light driven high-rate photodegradation of carbamazepine

Carbamazepine (CAZ) is one of the persistent pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) that widely detected in aqueous environments. The presence of CAZ might induce toxic effects onto ecosystems, while the current treatment approach could not effectively decontaminate it. Herein, we designed a novel visible light driven photocatalyst with graphene dispersed and surface plasmon resonance-enhanced Ag₃PO₄ (DSPR-Ag₃PO₄) for the high-rate degradation of CAZ, via a one-step hydrothermal method. 5 mg/L CAZ could be degraded entirely in 2 min by DSPR-Ag₃PO₄. The apparent rate constant of DSPR-Ag₃PO₄ was 2.66 min⁻¹, which was 4.3 times higher than that of pristine Ag₃PO₄. Graphene would promote the electron dispersion and transportation on DSPR-Ag₃PO₄, while Ag nanoparticles could trigger the effect of SPR to improve the visible light absorption and charge separation. This work has provided a simple approach to improve Ag₃PO₄-based photocatalyst with rational design, and shed light on the remediation of PPCPs in the environment.