Preparation of novel Sb{sub 2}O{sub 3}/WO{sub 3} photocatalysts and their activities under visible light irradiation

• Published in: Materials research bulletin Vol. 48; no. 6
• Main Authors: He, Guo-Hua, Liang, Can-Jian, Ou, Yu-Da, Liu, Dan-Ni, Fang, Yue-Ping, Xu, Yue-Hua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.06.2013
• Subjects: ANTIMONY OXIDES; COMPOSITE MATERIALS; FOURIER TRANSFORM SPECTROMETERS; FOURIER TRANSFORMATION; HYDROTHERMAL SYNTHESIS; INFRARED SPECTRA; IRRADIATION; MATERIALS SCIENCE; NANOPARTICLES; NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY; PHOTOCATALYSIS; PHOTOLUMINESCENCE; SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY; TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY; TUNGSTATES; TUNGSTEN OXIDES; X-RAY DIFFRACTION; X-RAY PHOTOELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY
• ISSN: 0025-5408; 1873-4227
• DOI: 10.1016/J.MATERRESBULL.2013.02.055

Highlights: ► Visible-light-driven Sb{sub 2}O{sub 3}/WO{sub 3} photocatalysts were synthesized. ► Results showed that RhB can be decomposed using a 4 W LED lamp as visible light. ► The coupling of Sb{sub 2}O{sub 3} and WO{sub 3} enhanced the photocatalytic activity of WO{sub 3}. - Abstract: Novel visible-light-driven Sb{sub 2}O{sub 3}/WO{sub 3} photocatalysts were prepared by a hydrothermal synthesis followed by heat treatment, and characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), BET surface area, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and photoluminescence spectra (PL). The photocatalytic activities of Sb{sub 2}O{sub 3}/WO{sub 3} photocatalysts were evaluated by the rhodamine B degradation using a LED lamp as visible light irradiation. Compared with pure WO{sub 3} and Sb{sub 2}O{sub 3}, the significantly enhanced photocatalytic activities of the Sb{sub 2}O{sub 3}/WO{sub 3} composite particles are attributed to the decrease of the recombination rate of photoinduced electron–hole pairs due to the coupling of Sb{sub 2}O{sub 3} and WO{sub 3} within the composite nanoparticles. Studies of Sb{sub 2}O{sub 3}/WO{sub 3} composites indicate that one approach to design composite materials with enhanced photocatalytic performance is through coupling Sb{sub 2}O{sub 3} with WO{sub 3}, which the lowest energy states for electrons and holes are in different semiconductors.