摘要
This work has developed conditions for the synthesis of Ag 3 PO 4 cubes, rhombic dodecahedra, {100}-truncated rhombic dodecahedra, tetrahedra, and tetrapods by tuning the amount of NH 4 NO 3 , NaOH, AgNO 3 , and K 2 HPO 4 solutions added. Use of a minimal amount of AgNO 3 solution can form much smaller rhombic dodecahedra and tetrahedra. Submicrometer-sized Ag 3 PO 4 cubes and rhombic dodecahedra with sizes larger than 300 nm do not exhibit the optical size effect, but ∼290 nm rhombic dodecahedra show a smaller band gap value than larger cubes, and tetrahedra show the most blue-shifted absorption edge. The optical facet effect is present in Ag 3 PO 4 crystals. Ag 3 PO 4 cubes are more photocatalytically active than rhombic dodecahedra toward photodegradation of methyl orange, but tetrahedra are inactive, showing clear presence of photocatalytic facet effects. Electron paramagnetic resonance results confirm much higher production of hydroxyl radicals from photoirradiated Ag 3 PO 4 cubes than from rhombic dodecahedra, while tetrahedra yield essentially no radicals. A modified band diagram showing different degrees of band edge bending can explain these observations. All these Ag 3 PO 4 crystals show poor electrical conductivity properties, but the {110} faces are slightly more conductive than the {100} faces. As a result, current rectifying I-V curves have been obtained, demonstrating that facet-dependent electrical properties are broadly observable in many semiconductor materials. This work reveals again that facet-dependent optical, photocatalytic, and electrical conductivity properties are intrinsic semiconductor properties.