Nanomaterials (Sep 2023)

Characterization and Comparison of WO<sub>3</sub>/WO<sub>3</sub>-MoO<sub>3</sub> and TiO<sub>2</sub>/TiO<sub>2</sub>-ZnO Nanostructures for Photoelectrocatalytic Degradation of the Pesticide Imazalil

  • Mireia Cifre-Herrando,
  • Gemma Roselló-Márquez,
  • Pedro José Navarro-Gázquez,
  • María José Muñoz-Portero,
  • Encarnación Blasco-Tamarit,
  • José García-Antón

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13182584
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 18
p. 2584

Abstract

Read online

Tungsten oxide (WO3) and zinc oxide (ZnO) are n-type semiconductors with numerous applications in photocatalysis. The objective of this study was to synthesize and characterize different types of nanostructures (WO3, WO3-Mo, TiO2, and TiO2-ZnO) for a comparison of hybrid and pure nanostructures to use them as a photoanodes for photoelectrocatalytic degradation of emerging contaminants. With the aim of comparing the properties of both samples, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and confocal laser-Raman spectroscopy were used to study the morphology, composition, and crystallinity, respectively. Electrochemical impedances, Mott-Schottky, and water splitting measurements were performed to compare the photoelectrochemical properties of photoanodes. Finally, the photoelectrocatalytic degradation of the pesticide Imazalil was carried out with the best optimized nanostructure (TiO2-ZnO).

Keywords