Monodispersed Ag nanoparticles loaded on the surface of spherical Bi2WO6 nanoarchitectures with enhanced photocatalytic activities

Abstract

Spherical Bi₂WO₆ nanoarchitectures with scale of 2–4 μm were prepared by a hydrothermal reaction using bismuth nitrate and ammonium tungstate as raw materials. Ag was deposited on the surface of Bi₂WO₆via a following facile photoreduction process. The as-prepared samples were characterized by UV-Vis-DRS, BET, XRD, XPS, FE-SEM, and HR-TEM. The results revealed that the monodispersed metallic Ag nanoparticles with average size of 10–15 nm were deposited on the surface of the spherical Bi₂WO₆ nanoarchitectures. The photocatalytic activities of the samples were evaluated by the photodegradation of RhB and thiophene under visible light irradiation. The results showed that Ag loading greatly improved the photocatalytic activity of Bi₂WO₆, and the content of loading silver has an impact on the catalytic activity of Bi₂WO₆. The 0.5at%Ag-loaded Bi₂WO₆ sample exhibited the best photocatalytic activity in both the decolorization of RhB and desulfurization of thiophene. In addition, the mechanism for the enhancement of the photocatalytic activity of Ag-loaded Bi₂WO₆ was also investigated by comparison of their PL spectra.