Enhanced Photocatalytic Properties of Nanostructured WO₃ Semiconductor-Photocatalyst Prepared via Hydrothermal Method

Ground and distilled water-mediated tungsten trioxide (WO3) nanostructures are prepared via hydrothermal approach. The physical and surface chemical properties of catalyst are analyzed using XRD, SEM-EDAX, HR-TEM, FT-IR, UV-DRS, Zeta potential and photoluminescence spectroscopy. It is confirmed that ground water has high impacts on the materials properties such as crystallinity and morphology. HR-TEM results proved the transformation of single crystalline to polycrystalline for sample W1 and W3 respectively. The photocatalytic efficiency of the various catalyst was analyzed by the degradation of methylene blue as a probe dye-molecule which was monitored by UV-vis spectroscopy. The decolorization efficiency was observed as 1.14 times maximized in distilled water prepared catalyst when compared with ground water prepared catalyst. Moreover, the persulfate activation was found as 2.3 fold amplified in distilled water prepared catalyst when compared with other catalyst. On the development of various water-assisted WO3 semiconductor photocatalysis, this work can provide new insights into the design of novel photocatalyst for potential applications in the energy and environmental remediation sectors.