Facile Hydrothermal Synthesis of Tungsten Tri-oxide/Titanium Di-oxide Nanohybrid Structures as Photocatalyst for Wastewater Treatment Application

In this study, tungsten trioxide/titanium dioxide (WO3-TiO2) nanohybrid structures were prepared using a facile hydrothermal method. The nanosheets-like morphology was achieved for the prepared WO3-TiO2 nanohybrid that were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Provided X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results also confirm the element existence and surface composition of the nanohybrid structure. The optical properties of the WO3-TiO2 nanohybrid were verified using UV-Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis DRS) and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The UV-Vis DRS results indicated that the absorption edge for the WO3-TiO2 nanohybrid found a red shift towards the visible region due to the reduced bandgap (2.83 eV). The photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared WO3-TiO2 nanohybrid was evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of Orange G dye in wastewaters under visible light. 94% Orange G dye was degraded in 210 min at neutral pH in the presence of WO3-TiO2 nanohybrid, which indicates the enhanced photocatalytic activity. The photo-luminescence technique has also confirmed the formation of -OH radicals during photodegradation by utilizing terephthalic acid as a probe molecule. These results indicate that the prepared nanohybrid material is a simple, low-cost, and efficient photocatalyst for the degradation of pollutants in wastewater treatment applications.