One-Step Fabrication of Flower-Like ZnWO4/BiOBr Nanospheres with Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation Efficiency

Abstract

Flower-like zinc tungstate/bismuth bromate (ZnWO4/BiOBr) nanospheres were synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal method. The photocatalytic activity of the ZnWO4/BiOBr heterojunction was evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of 30[Formula: see text]mg/L of rhodamine B (RhB). It was found that 10% of ZnWO4/BiOBr had the best degradation ability toward RhB. The degradation rate of RhB reached 97.7% (5 times and 358 times those of BiOBr and ZnWO4, respectively) after light-emitting diode (LED) visible light irradiation for 30[Formula: see text]min. The ZnWO4/BiOBr heterojunction had excellent photocatalytic activity because of its higher specific surface area and enhanced spectral response range. Moreover, the ZnWO4/BiOBr heterojunction improved the charge separation efficiency and promoted the generation of more holes, [Formula: see text] O[Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] OH radicals under light irradiation; thus, improving the degradation efficiency. Finally, a possible photocatalytic degradation mechanism was proposed. This study provides a good reference for the preparation of bismuth-based composite photocatalysts for the degradation and purification of organic pollutants.