Issue 2, 2017

Highly enhanced photocatalytic activity of WO3 thin films loaded with Pt–Ag bimetallic alloy nanoparticles

Abstract

WO3 thin films loaded with Pt–Ag bimetallic alloy nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by a three-step method involving the formation of a homogeneous precursor sol, spin coating as well as UV-light reduction, and calcination. Moreover, a systematic, comparative study of the microstructure, chemical environment and electrochemical characteristics of the as-prepared Pt/WO3, Ag/WO3, and Pt–Ag/WO3 thin films was carried out. It was found that the Pt–Ag/WO3 thin film exhibited a highly enhanced photocatalytic performance for the degradation of methylene blue solution compared with the pure WO3, Pt/WO3 and Ag/WO3 thin films. Based on the experimental results and the energy-band diagrams, the transfer paths of photogenerated charges and the enhanced photocatalytic mechanism were proposed. It was suggested that the photogenerated electrons from the conduction band of WO3 first transferred to Ag and then to Pt in the Pt–Ag/WO3 sample during the photocatalytic process, promoting the efficient two-electron reduction of O2 compared to in the Pt/WO3 and Ag/WO3 samples. In addition, this process prevented the oxidation of Ag in the Pt–Ag/WO3 sample during the photodegradation process in air. Overall, this study provides a novel approach to design efficient photocatalysts decorated by bimetallic alloy nanoparticles.

Graphical abstract: Highly enhanced photocatalytic activity of WO3 thin films loaded with Pt–Ag bimetallic alloy nanoparticles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
15 Okt 2016
Accepted
11 Nov 2016
First published
04 Jan 2017
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2017,7, 947-956

Highly enhanced photocatalytic activity of WO3 thin films loaded with Pt–Ag bimetallic alloy nanoparticles

P. Dong, B. Yang, C. Liu, F. Xu, X. Xi, G. Hou and R. Shao, RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 947 DOI: 10.1039/C6RA25272A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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