Facile phase selective synthesis of α- and β-AgVO 3 : a comparative study of their structural, morphological and photocatalytic properties

contributes to its enhanced photocatalytic activity. Interestingly, and in contrast to previous reports favoring the β-phase, the α-phase demonstrates superior photocatalytic efficiency, achieving complete degradation of rhodamine B within 90 minutes, while the β-phase reaches 89% degradation after 180 minutes. This finding challenges the conventional assumption that the β-phase always outperforms the α-phase and suggests that morphology and surface structure can play a more critical role than crystallinity in determining photocatalytic performance.