The facile hydrothermal preparation of orthorhombic WO<inf>3</inf>with (001) facet and its photocatalytic performance

• Key Words:High resolution transmission electron microscopy;Degradation - Electron microscopy - Hydrothermal synthesis - Nanostructures - Photocatalysis - Photocatalysts - Photodegradation - Scanning electron microscopy - X ray diffraction;Diffused reflectance - Hydrothermal preparation - Hydrothermal process - Nanoplates - Photocatalytic activities - Photocatalytic efficiency - Photocatalytic performance - Visible-light irradiation
• Abstract:The orthorhombic WO<inf>3</inf>nanoplates with (001) facet were fabricated via a facile hydrothermal process, using HBF<inf>4</inf>as the acid source. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and UV-vis diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), respectively. It indicated that the obtained product was orthorhombic WO<inf>3</inf>(JCPDS No. 20-1324). And the energy gap was estimated to be 2.52 eV by the intersection point of the tangent of the absorption edge and the baseline. It was affirmed that WO<inf>3</inf>crystalline grew along the (001) direction, indicating the product was exposed with (001) facet. The photocatalytic activity of (001) WO<inf>3</inf>nanoplates was investigated on the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB). It demonstrated that photocatalysts exhibited obvious photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation. The degradation rate of RhB with the typical product reached 95% after being irradiated for 5 h. It indicated that the photocatalytic efficiency of WO<inf>3</inf>could be improved by controlling the crystal growth and its morphology. Copyright &copy; 2015 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved.
• Volume:15
• Issue:12
• Translation or Not:no