Improved Photocatalytic Activity of Hydrothermally Prepared Bi2WO6 in Degradation of Rhodamine B and Methylene Blue

Abstract

Bi₂WO₆ photocatalysts were synthesized via hydrothermal process and solid-state reaction techniques. The results revealed that Bi₂WO₆ prepared via hydrothermal route were composed of numerous square nanoplates, and Bi₂WO₆ prepared via solid-state route were just irregular broken pieces of the material. The photocatalytic activity of both the Bi₂WO₆ samples prepared via two different techniques under Xe lamp of 300W was evaluated for degradation Rhodamine B (RHB) and Methylene blue (MB). The hydrothermally prepared Bi₂WO₆ nanoplates exhibited better photocatalytic activity. Nearly 56% of RHB and 53% of MB were degraded within 40mins respectively, which was three times better than the Bi₂WO₆ synthesized by solid-state reaction. The better photocatalytic performance can be credited to the geometry, porosity, and the higher surface area of the hydrothermally prepared Bi₂WO₆ photocatalyst.