Hydrothermal Synthesis of the CuWO₄/ZnO Composites with Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance

Abstract

Photocatalytic technology aiming to eliminate organic pollutants in water has been rapidly developed. In this work, we successfully synthesized CuWO 4 /ZnO photocatalysts with different weight ratios of CuWO 4 through facile hydrothermal treatment. Crystal structures, forms, and optical properties of these as-prepared materials were investigated and analyzed. 3% CuWO 4 / ZnO showed the optimum photodegradation efficiency toward methylene blue under the irradiation of simulated sunlight for 120 min, the degradation rate of which was 98.9%. The pseudo-firstorder rate constant of 3% CuWO 4 /ZnO was ∼11.3 and ∼3.5 times bigger than that of pristine CuWO 4 and ZnO, respectively. Furthermore, the material exhibited high stability and reusability after five consecutive photocatalytic tests. In addition, free radical capture experiments were conducted and the possible mechanism proposed explained that the synergistic effect between CuWO 4 and ZnO accelerates the photodegradation reaction. This work provides a feasible technical background for the efficient and sustainable utilization of photocatalysts in wastewater control.

Three-Layer PdO/CuWO4/CuO System for Hydrogen Gas Sensing with Reduced Humidity Interference

“…The peaks at 295 and 334 cm −1 are attributed to CuO [26,41] and can be found in the spectra of all multilayer films. However, when the amount of W-O is increased from 5 W-O to 20 W-O, the signal from CuO is reduced while the peak corresponding to CuWO 4 at the position of 899 cm −1 [42,43] distinctly gains in its intensity. This confirms a nearly complete intermixing of W-O with Cu-O.…”

Photocatalytic Degradation of Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics in Solution

“…where ECB and EVB are the edge potentials of the valence band (VB) and conduction band (CB), respectively, X is the absolute electronegativity, EC is the energy of free electrons on the hydrogen scale (4.50 eV) [59,60], and Eg is the bandgap. X values for ZnO and gC3N4 are 5.75 [61] and 4.73 eV [62], respectively. The calculated ECB and EVB edge positions for Au@ZnONPs are -0.355 and 2.855 eV, respectively, while for gC3N4 the calculated values were -1.165 and 1.625 eV, respectively, being in agreement with values previously determined in other investigations [62,63].…”

In Situ Synthesis of a Bismuth Vanadate/Molybdenum Disulfide Composite: An Electrochemical Tool for 3-Nitro-l-Tyrosine Analysis

“…In terms of sensing applications, nanocomposite-based electrodes offer a simple yet effective approach to overcome the disadvantages associated with single material electrodes . Highly stable hybrid nanocomposites can be designed by facile and low-cost synthetic procedures . Hydrothermal synthesis is a one-pot technique that requires minimal reaction conditions and produces nanocomposites with extremely fine morphological control and enriched interaction of active centers. , For instance, morphological modifications and heterostructure construction using other semiconductor materials have proven to increase the electrochemical efficiency of tetragonal BiVO 4.…”

“…Highly stable hybrid nanocomposites can be designed by facile and low-cost synthetic procedures . Hydrothermal synthesis is a one-pot technique that requires minimal reaction conditions and produces nanocomposites with extremely fine morphological control and enriched interaction of active centers. , For instance, morphological modifications and heterostructure construction using other semiconductor materials have proven to increase the electrochemical efficiency of tetragonal BiVO 4. , Maheshwaran et al, quantitatively detected the presence of furazolidone in biological samples using a 2D–1D MoS 2 @BiVO 4 nanocomposite.…”