Synthesis of PVP-Bi2WO6 photocatalyst and degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride under visible light

Abstract

Enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity of Bi2WO6 photocatalyst modified with different ratio of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) was synthesized by a facile solvothermal process. The as-prepared photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectra and photoluminescence spectra. The results indicated that the addition of PVP could control the particle morphology of bismuth tungstate catalyst to form high phase purity of Bi2WO6. The solvent-thermal reaction time was critical in deciding the structure and shapes of the catalysts, and the optimal solvent-thermal reaction time was 24 h. The photocatalytic activities of the PVP-Bi2WO6 catalysts were determined by photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. Optical properties and the TCH degradation results showed that PVP-Bi2WO6 catalysts exhibited enhanced photodegradation for TCH under visible-light irradiation. Among them, P5 (PVP % = 1.0 wt%) exhibited the best photocatalytic activity for degradation ratio of TCH reaching 86.88 % in 90 min.