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Engineering Nanostructured Bi 2 WO 6 –TiO 2 Toward Effective Utilization of Natural Light in Photocatalysis
Author(s) -
Zhang Yupeng,
Fei Linfeng,
Jiang Xudong,
Pan Chunxu,
Wang Yu
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1551-2916.2011.04905.x
Subject(s) - photocatalysis , anatase , materials science , photodegradation , rutile , nanofiber , visible spectrum , heterojunction , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , nanoparticle , specific surface area , band gap , electrospinning , catalysis , optoelectronics , composite material , chemistry , organic chemistry , polymer , engineering
Being expected as one of the most promising solutions in water and air purification as photocatalyst, TiO 2 is attracting intensive and extensive research interests globally despite its wide band gap (~3.2 eV for anatase structure) which limits it only to be activated under UV irradiation. In pursuit of extending the active region of TiO 2 toward visible light, considerable attention was devoted to develop TiO 2 ‐based photocatalyst. We report herein, for the first time, novel “bud‐on‐branch” Bi 2 WO 6 –TiO 2 nanofibers fabricated via a facile and large‐scale electrospinning technique from a biphased precursor. Formed by surface‐decorating continuous TiO 2 nanofibers (mixed anatase–rutile system with an average diameter of about 100 nm) with ~13 nm well‐crystallized Bi 2 WO 6 nanoparticles, the as‐synthesized Bi 2 WO 6 –TiO 2 nanofibers achieved an evidently increased specific surface area. Furthermore, corresponding photocatalytic experiments revealed that the optimal photodegradation rate from our designed heterostructure was as high as three times to that of pure TiO 2 nanofibers; this increase in optimal photodegradation rate is attributed to the relatively well‐matched energy band between TiO 2 and Bi 2 WO 6 and hence an excellent separation efficiency of photogenerated electron–hole pairs in both ultraviolet and visible light regions, suggesting that the designed heterostructures can give better rise to practise photocatalysis under natural light.