Hydrangeas-like Bi2WO6: facile synthesis, visible-light driven photocatalysis and theoretical analysis

Hydrangeas-like Bi2WO6 powders were synthesized successfully by salt-ultrasonic assisted hydrothermal process, which were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-Vis DRS), respectively. Bi, W and O elements were contained in the product, which could be tested by EDS. The crystal structure of the catalyst was orthorhombic phase (JCPDS card no.73-1126). And the band gap was estimated to be 2.56 eV from the onset of UV-Vis absorption spectra of the catalyst. In addition, the photocatalytic activities of the products were investigated on the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB). It demonstrated that photocatalysts exhibited excellent visible-light driven photocatalytic performance. And the target residue was less than 1% in 20 min under Xenon lamp irradiation. First-principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) were used to explore the electronic and optical properties of Bi2WO6. And the theoretical calculations could illustrate the photocatalytic performance of Bi2WO6 powders under visible light irradiation.