Skip to main content
Log in

Hydrothermal synthesis of visible-light-driven hierarchical Bi3.84W0.16O6.24 photocatalysts toward efficient degradation of methyl orange

  • Research Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Nanoparticle Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the work, visible-light-driven hierarchical Bi3.84W0.16O6.24 photocatalysts have been synthesized by a facile hydrothermal strategy. The micro-structures and photocatalytic activities of Bi3.84W0.16O6.24 photocatalysts were finely tuned just by adjusting the pH values of reaction solutions with different alkalis. The as-prepared samples were physically characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and ultraviolet–visible diffraction reflection spectroscopy. When evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) under the visible-light irradiation, Bi3.84W0.16O6.24 samples with distinct micro-structures showed different photocatalytic activities. Of Note, the hierarchical Bi3.84W0.16O6.24 sub-microspheres constructed by nanoflake building blocks demonstrated the highest photocatalytic activity for the degradation of MO under the visible-light irradiation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Chai SN, Zhao GH, Li PQ, Lei YZ, Zhang YN, Li DM (2011) Novel sieve-like SnO2/TiO2 nanotubes with integrated photoelectrocatalysis: fabrication and application for efficient toxicity elimination of nitrophenol wastewater. J Phys Chem C 115:18261–18269

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen SF, Tang WM, Hu YF, Fu XL (2013) The preparation and characterization of composite bismuth tungsten oxide with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity. CrystEngComm 15:7943–7950

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • He ZL, Que WX, Chen J, Yin XT, He YC, Ren JB (2012) Photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange over nitrogen-fluorine codoped TiO2 nanobelts prepared by solvothermal synthesis. ACS Appl Mater Int 4:6816–6826

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hou LR, Yuan CZ, Peng Y (2006) Preparation and photocatalytic properties of sunlight-driven photocatalyst Bi38ZnO58. J Mol Catal A 252:132–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hou LR, Yuan CZ, Peng Y (2007) Synthesis and photocatalytic property of SnO2/TiO2 nanotubes composites. J Hazard Mater 139:310–315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hou LR, Wang CF, Chen L, Chen S (2010) Multiple-structured nanocrystals towards bifunctional photoluminescent superhydrophobic surfaces. J Mater Chem 20:3863–3868

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hou LR, Zhang Q, Ling LT, Li CX, Chen S (2013) Interfacial fabrication of single-crystalline ZnTe nanorods with blue fluorescence. J Am Chem Soc 135:10618–10621

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hou LR, Lian L, Zhang LH, Wu T, Yuan CZ (2014) Microwave-assisted interfacial hydrothermal fabrication of hydrophobic CdWO4 microspheres as a high-performance photocatalyst. RSC Adv 4:2374–2381

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jeong HW, Jeon TH, Jang JS, Choi WY, Park HW (2013) Strategic modification of BiVO4 for improving photoelectrochemical water oxidation performance. J Phys Chem C 117:9104–9112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jing LQ, Zhou W, Tian GH, Fu HG (2013) Surface tuning for oxide-based nanomaterials as efficient photocatalysts. Chem Soc Rev 42:9509–9549

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kong L, Jiang Z, Lai HH, Nicholls RJ, Xiao T, Jones MO, Edwards PP (2012) Unusual reactivity of visible-light-responsive AgBr–BiOBr heterojunction photocatalysts. J Catal 293:116–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Q, Guo BD, Yu JG, Ran JR, Zhang BH, Yan HJ, Gong JR (2011) Highly efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic hydrogen production of CdS-cluster-decorated graphene nanosheets. J Am Chem Soc 133:10878–10884

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li ZJ, Wang JJ, Li XB, Fan XB, Meng QY, Feng K, Chen B, Tung CH, Wu LZ (2013) An exceptional artificial photocatalyst, Nih-CdSe/CdS core/shell hybrid, made in situ from CdSe quantum dots and nickel salts for efficient hydrogen evolution. Adv Mater 25:6613–6618

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liao L, Zhang QH, Su ZH, Zhao ZZ, Wang YN, Li Y, Lu XX, Wei DG, Feng GY, Yu QK, Cai XJ, Zhao JM, Ren ZF, Fang H, Robles-Hernandez F, Baldelli S, Bao JM (2014) Efficient solar water-splitting using a nanocrystalline CoO photocatalyst. Nat Nanotechnol 9:69–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu ZF, Zhao ZG, Miyauchi M (2009) Efficient visible light active CaFe2O4/WO3 based composite photocatalysts: effect of interfacial modification. J Phys Chem C 113:17132–17137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luttrell T, Halpegamage S, Tao JG, Kramer A, Sutter E, Batzill M (2014) Why is anatase a better photocatalyst than rutile? Model studies on epitaxial TiO2 films. Sci Rep. doi:10.1038/srep04043

    Google Scholar 

  • Ming GE, Guo CS, Zhu XW, Ma LL, Han ZN, Hu W, Wang YQ (2009) Photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange using ZnO/TiO2 composites. Environ Sci Eng 3:271–280

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakata K, Fujishima A (2012) TiO2 photocatalysis: design and applications. J Photochem Photobiol, C 13:169–189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park H, Park Y, Kim W, Choi W (2013) Surface modification of TiO2 photocatalyst for environmental applications. J Photochem Photobiol, C 15:1–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rao PM, Cai LL, Liu C, Cho IS, Lee CH, Weisse JM, Yang PD, Zheng XL (2014) Simultaneously efficient light absorption and charge separation in WO3/BiVO4 core/shell nanowire photoanode for photoelectrochemical water oxidation. Nano Lett 14:1099–1105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian J, Sang YH, Yu GW, Jiang HD, Mu XN, Liu H (2013) A Bi2WO6-based hybrid photocatalyst with broad spectrum photocatalytic properties under UV, visible, and near-infrared irradiation. Adv Mater 25:5075–5080

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang WD, Huang FQ, Lin XP (2007) xBiOI-(1-x) BiOCl as efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysts. Scr Mater 56:669–672

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang CY, Zhu LY, Song C, Shan GQ, Chen P (2011a) Characterization of photocatalyst Bi3.84W0.16O6.24 and its photodegradation on bisphenol A under simulated solar light irradiation. Appl Catal B 105:229–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang YN, Deng KJ, Zhang LZ (2011b) Visible light photocatalysis of BiOI and its photocatalytic activity enhancement by in situ ionic liquid modification. J Phys Chem C 115:14300–14308

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang DJ, Xue GL, Zhen YZ, Fu F, Li DS (2012) Monodispersed Ag nanoparticles loaded on the surface of spherical Bi2WO6 nanoarchitectures with enhanced photocatalytic activities. J Mater Chem 22:4751–4758

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang DJ, Zhen YZ, Xue GL, Fu F, Liu XM, Li DS (2013) Synthesis of mesoporous Bi2WO6 architectures and their gas sensitivity to ethanol. J Mater Chem C 1:4153–4162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiang QJ, Yu JG, Jaronec M (2012) Synergetic effect of MoS2 and graphene as cocatalysts for enhanced photocatalytic H2 production activity of TiO2 nanoparticles. J Am Chem Soc 134:6575–6578

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu L, Yang XY, Zhai Z, Hou WH (2011) EDTA-mediated shape-selective synthesis of Bi2WO6 hierarchical self-assemblies with high visible-light-driven photocatalytic activities. CrystEngComm 13:7267–7275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yao SS, Wei JY, Huang BB, Feng SY, Zhang XY, Qin XY, Wang P, Wang ZY, Zhang Q, Jing XY, Zhan J (2009) Morphology modulated growth of bismuth tungsten oxide nanocrystals. J Solid State Chem 182:236–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang C, Zhu YF (2005) Synthesis of square Bi2WO6 nanoplates as high-activity visible-light-driven photocatalysts. Chem Mater 17:3537–3545

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang MY, Shao CL, Zhang P, Su CY, Zhang X, Liang PP, Sun YY, Liu YC (2012) Bi2MoO6 microtubes: controlled fabrication by using electrospun polyacrylonitrile microfibers as template and their enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity. J Hazard Mater 155:225–226

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang YH, Zhang N, Tang ZR, Xu YJ (2013a) Identification of Bi2WO6 as a highly selective visible-light photocatalyst toward oxidation of glycerol to dihydroxyacetone in water. Chem Sci 4:1820–1824

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Zhu YK, Yu JQ, Yang DQ, Nq TW, Wong PK, Yu JC (2013b) Enhanced photocatalytic water disinfection properties of Bi2MoO6-RGO nanocomposites under visible light irradiation. Nanoscale 5:6307–6310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou Y, Antonova E, Bensch W, Patzke GR (2010) In situ X-ray diffraction study of the hydrothermal crystallization of hierarchical Bi2WO6 nanostructures. Nanoscale 2:2412–2417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou HL, Qu YQ, Zeid T, Duan XF (2012) Towards highly efficient photocatalysts using semiconductor nanoarchitectures. Energy Environ Sci 5:6732–6743

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou M, Wu HB, Bao J, Liang L, Lou XW, Xie Y (2013) Ordered macroporous BiVO4 architectures with controllable dual porosity for efficient solar water splitting. Angew Chem Int Ed 52:8579–8583

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support by the Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province (KJ2013A051), Graduate Innovation Program of Anhui University of Technology (2013008), and Training programs for innovation and entrepreneurship of Anhui Province (AH201310360133; AH201310360129).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Changzhou Yuan.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hou, L., Hua, H., Gan, L. et al. Hydrothermal synthesis of visible-light-driven hierarchical Bi3.84W0.16O6.24 photocatalysts toward efficient degradation of methyl orange. J Nanopart Res 17, 183 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-015-2994-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-015-2994-5

Keywords

Navigation