Solvothermal synthesis and material characterization of bismuth tungstate (Bi2WO6) micro/nanoparticles: A comparative study

• Main Authors: Priscilla, D. Trixy Nimmy, Nadhiya, D., Priya, S., Jayabharathi, P., Srinivasan, G.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Absorption spectra; Annealing; Bismuth compounds; Comparative studies; Energy bands; Energy gap; Fourier transforms; Morphology; Nanoparticles; Optical properties; Orthorhombic phase; Quantum confinement; Spectrum analysis; Tungstates
• ISSN: 0094-243X; 1551-7616
• DOI: 10.1063/5.0016990

Bismuth tungstate (Bi2WO6) micro/nanoparticles have been synthesized by a facile solvothermal route. The XRD pattern confirms the orthorhombic phase of russellite Bi2WO6 material. The sample BWO prepared by solvothermal route at 180°C gives rise to slightly elongatedshapewith an average particle size of about 9.91 nm, whereas the sample BWO-600 which has been annealed at 600°C for 2 hrs possess a change in the morphology to nanoplates whose border length measures between 0.4 µm to 1.0 µm. The vibrational modes of Bi-O and W-O have been confirmed by exploring the Fourier transform infra-red spectrum (FTIR). The optical absorption properties of the samples were studies using UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. From the UV-DRS spectrum, it is revealed that the absorption band edge of the annealed BWO-600 sample shows a blue shift when compared with the sample BWO. The optical energy band gap of BWO and BWO-600 is found to be 3.16 eV and 2.92 eV respectively. The higher band gap value observed in BWO is attributed to the quantum confinement effect due to the formation of smaller sized particles.