WO sub(3)/TiO sub(2) heterostructures tailored by the oriented attachment mechanism: insights from their photocatalytic properties

• Published in: CrystEngComm Vol. 16; no. 8; pp. 1514 - 1524
• Main Authors: de Castro, Isabela Alves, Avansi, Waldir Jr, Ribeiro, Caue
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.2014
• Subjects: Anatase; Attachment; Degradation; Heterostructures; Photocatalysis; Spectroscopy; Titanium dioxide; Tungsten oxides
• ISSN: 1466-8033
• DOI: 10.1039/c3ce41668b

Efficient WO sub(3)/TiO sub(2) photocatalysts were obtained through the Oriented attachment mechanism viahydrothermal annealing, which entailed using previously prepared WO sub(3) particles and commercial TiO sub(2) nanoparticles as "building blocks". The photoreactivity of this material towards organic contaminant degradation was enhanced compared to commercial TiO sub(2) because the coupling of the WO sub(3)/TiO sub(2) structures reduced the recombination of the photogenerated charges in anatase TiO sub(2). The pristine WO sub(3) nanoparticles were prepared by hydrothermally assisted degradation of a W-peroxocomplex and all of the prepared materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, electron microscopy, Near-Infrared spectroscopy, nitrogen physical adsorption (BET method), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) and diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS). The optimal compositional ratio for the WO sub(3)/TiO sub(2) heterostructures was 30-40 wt% of WO sub(3). We also provided the interface formation in the HRTEM images by observing the presence of the lattice spacing of the (101) and (120) planes of TiO sub(2) anatase and WO sub(3) orthorhombic crystals, respectively, which allows the charge migration during the photocatalyzed degradation of the heterostructures, thereby improving their photoactivity.