Morphology influence on photocatalytic activity of tungsten oxide loaded by platinum nanoparticles

Abstract

Photocatalytic activity of different morphologies of tungsten oxide was investigated before and after platinum loading. Different shape particles of tungsten oxide were synthesized using peroxo tungstic acid solution as a basic precursor and different methods. The prepared materials were composed of nanoparticles, nanorods, and nanosheets that formed different morphologies. The results of photodegradation with isopropyl alcohol (IPA) under visible light showed that the samples composed of nanostructures with an average lateral thickness of 20 to 47 nm were more active than one composed of broad nanosheets with a thickness of 60 nm. The samples were loaded with a platinum cocatalyst. The results of photocatalytic evaluation of loaded samples showed that the photooxidation reaction of samples with a smaller feature was accelerated with a higher rate rather than one with broad nanosheets. We conclude that although loading of a cocatalyst promoted the photocatalytic activity, it is not capable of compensating for the morphology influence on the photocatalytic activity.