Green synthesis of tungsten oxide (WO3) nanosheets and investigation of their photocatalytic and cytotoxicity effects

Abstract

Abstract In the present work, the synthesis of tungsten oxide nanosheets (WO3‐NS) was performed through a sol–gel method with the usage of Na2WO4 as the tungsten source in a gelatin solution that functioned as a novel green stabilising agent. The synthesised WO3‐NS were characterised by the analysing methods of XRD, FESEM/EDX, FTIR, TGA/DTG, UV–vis, Raman, and VSM. The photocatalytic activity of the product is investigated through the exertion of methylene blue pigment, while the obtained results reported 95% of degradation in 187 min under the light of a mercury vapour lamp. The cytotoxicity effect of WO3‐NS on the human liver (Huh‐7) cell line was evaluated by the means of the MTT method, which displayed the inhibiting capabilities of these nanosheets regarding cancer cells.