Mesoporous nanoplate multi-directional assembled Bi₂WO₆ for high efficient photocatalytic oxidation of NO

Herein, a mesoporous nanoplate multi-directional assembled Bi₂WO₆ architecture was successfully prepared and applied for the photocatalytic removal of NOx pollutants at low concentrations under visible light and simulated solar light irradiation. Bi₂WO₆-180-C synthesized at a hydrothermal temperature of 180 °C with calcination exhibited an excellent conversion efficiency in the photocatalytic oxidation of gaseous NO. The crystallinity, morphology, specific surface area, pore environment, light absorption, and separation of photogenerated electrons and holes were investigated by various techniques; the excellent photocatalytic performance of Bi₂WO₆-180-C was attributed to its special hierarchical mesoporous structure with an appropriate pore size and interconnected porous network, which imparted good gas permeability and fast mass transfer of reaction intermediates and final products of NO oxidation. Furthermore, hierarchical mesoporous Bi₂WO₆ showed excellent photocatalytic durability and reusability.