Controlled fabrication of hierarchical WO 3 ·H 2 O hollow microspheres for enhanced visible light photocatalysis

• Published in: RSC advances 2015, Vol.5 (21), p.16376-16385
• Main Authors: Guo, Sheng-Qi, Zhen, Meng-Meng, Sun, Mei-Qing, Zhang, Xiao, Zhao, Ya-Ping, Liu, Lu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2046-2069; 2046-2069
• DOI: 10.1039/C4RA14312D

WO 3 ·H 2 O nanostructures have been prepared through a facile hydrothermal route by controlling their morphology during synthesis. WO 3 ·H 2 O nanoplates with a thickness of ∼45 nm and hierarchical hollow microspheres (HMSs) structures could be obtained by introducing different amounts of citric acid. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were employed to understand the structure and morphology of the two types of WO 3 ·H 2 O. The formation mechanisms for WO 3 ·H 2 O nanoplates and WO 3 ·H 2 O HMSs were investigated. The photocatalytic activities, determined by rhodamine B (RhB) degradation under visible light irradiation of WO 3 ·H 2 O HMSs photocatalysts, were significantly improved as compared with WO 3 ·H 2 O nanoplates. The higher efficiency of photocatalytic activity in WO 3 ·H 2 O HMSs was attributed to its higher surface-to-volume ratio and stability against aggregation. In addition, we investigated the toxicity of WO 3 ·H 2 O HMSs against an important model fungus, yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae ). The results indicate that the as-synthesized hierarchical WO 3 ·H 2 O HMSs could be used as a green and efficient photocatalyst.