Enhanced photocatalytic performance of WON@porous TiO₂ nanofibers towards sunlight-assisted degradation of organic contaminants

Abstract

In the last few decades, TiO 2 has been widely used in different types of photocatalytic applications.However, the relatively large optical band gap ($3.2 eV), low charge carrier mobility and consequently its low quantum efficiency limit its photocatalytic activity. Herein, we construct a novel nanostructured heterojunction of WON/TiO 2 nanofibers (NFs) by integration of TiO 2 nanofibers synthesized by electrospinning of a polymer solution containing a titanium(IV) butoxide precursor with WON nanoparticles fabricated via annealing of a WO 3 precursor in dry ammonia at 700 C. The synthesized photocatalysts were characterized using different spectroscopic techniques. Their photocatalytic performance towards the degradation of methyl orange, methylene blue, and phenol as model contaminants was investigated and the charge transfer process was elucidated and compared to that of a TiO 2 /WO 3 heterojunction. Scheme 1 Charge transfer through (a) TiO 2 /WO 3 heterojunction (b) TiO 2 /WON heterojunction.This journal is

Microwave-Assisted Solvothermal Synthesis of Mo-Doped TiO2 with Exceptional Textural Properties and Superior Adsorption Kinetics

“…Over the last decades, TiO 2 has been employed in a wide range of applications due to its unique merits such as high resistance to photo-corrosion, biocompatibility, remarkable chemical and thermal stabilities, non-toxicity, and low cost [4,5]. These applications extend from heterogeneous catalysis to energy storage, gas sensing, biomedical applications, food industry, and cosmetics [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. TiO 2 can be regarded as an ideal adsorbent owing to its nontoxic nature and its stability over a wide range of pH [14].…”