Effect of HNO3 Concentration on the Morphologies and Properties of Bi2WO6 Photocatalyst Synthesized by a Hydrothermal Method

Abstract

Bi2WO6 samples were prepared by a hydrothermal method using Bi(NO3)3·5H2O and Na2WO4·2H2O as raw materials. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Raman and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) were employed for sample characterization. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was evaluated by the degradation of Rhodamine B under visible-light irradiation. The photocatalytic activity of Bi2WO6, as well as the effect of varying HNO3 concentrations on the morphologies of Bi2WO6, was investigated. The HNO3 concentration significantly affected the structure and morphology of the Bi2WO6. The photocatalytic performance varied with the structure, morphology, and surface area of the Bi2WO6 samples. The results indicated that the H10 sample exhibits uniform morphology and excellent photocatalytic performance; using this sample, the degradation of Rhodamine B reached 96% in 90 min under visible-light irradiation.

Keywords

• photocatalysis
• Bi2WO6
• morphology
• degradation
• nanosheet