Hydrothermal Synthesis and Photocatalytic Activities of Bi<sub>2</sub>WO<sub>6</sub> with Different Surfactant

Abstract

Bismuth-based oxides have attractive photocatalytic properties under visible light. Bismuth tungstate(Bi2WO6) particles as a visible light-responsive photocatalyst were prepared by a facile hydrothermal reaction method with the different surfactant assisted using Bi(NO3)3·5H2O and Na2WO4 as raw materials at 180°C for 24h. The as-prepared samples were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-vis absorption spectra (UV-vis). The photocatalytic activity of Bi2WO6 crystals was evaluated using the photocatalytic oxidation of rhodamine B (RhB) at room temperature under visible light irradiation. It was found that the morphology and the band gap adsorption edge of Bi2WO6 are different with the different surfactant assisted. The widest band gap energy of Bi2WO6 obtained with SDBS assisted is 2.624eV. In addition, the Bi2WO6 powders exhibit a certain photocatalytic properties to photodegrade RhB and the maximum photocatalytic degradation rate is 32.4% using Bi2WO6 prepared with PVP assisted for 2h.