Ultrasonic spray pyrolysis assembly of a TiO2–WO3–Pt multi-heterojunction microsphere photocatalyst using highly crystalline WO3 nanosheets: less is better

Abstract

Multi-heterojunctions are more promising than single-heterojunctions in photocatalysis due to the availability of more interfaces between each component. However, photocatalytic activity is highly dependent on the contact mode of individual components. In this work, we assemble TiO₂–WO₃–Pt multi-heterojunction microspheres using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis and focus on their contact mode governed photocatalytic activity. The results reveal that using highly crystalline WO₃ nanosheets as building blocks could particularly enhance the photocatalytic activity of a TiO₂/WO₃ system toward the degradation of gaseous acetaldehyde and isopropyl alcohol. Furthermore, loading Pt nanoparticles onto WO₃ nanosheets could facilitate a more prominent enhancement of activity than that of TiO₂/Pt, benefiting from the two-electron reduction of oxygen at the interface of WO₃/Pt. Meanwhile, the high crystallinity of WO₃ nanosheets allows for a loading amount of Pt as low as 0.04 wt% in the TiO₂–WO₃–Pt system, which reduces the catalyst cost in comparison with that of the conventional amount of 1 wt%.