Preparation of novel Sb2O3/WO3 photocatalysts and their activities under visible light irradiation

Novel visible-light-driven Sb2O3/WO3 photocatalysts were prepared by a hydrothermal synthesis followed by heat treatment, and characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), BET surface area, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and photoluminescence spectra (PL). The photocatalytic activities of Sb2O3/WO3 photocatalysts were evaluated by the rhodamine B degradation using a LED lamp as visible light irradiation. Compared with pure WO3 and Sb2O3, the significantly enhanced photocatalytic activities of the Sb2O3/WO3 composite particles are attributed to the decrease of the recombination rate of photoinduced electron–hole pairs due to the coupling of Sb2O3 and WO3 within the composite nanoparticles. Studies of Sb2O3/WO3 composites indicate that one approach to design composite materials with enhanced photocatalytic performance is through coupling Sb2O3 with WO3, which the lowest energy states for electrons and holes are in different semiconductors.

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► Visible-light-driven Sb2O3/WO3 photocatalysts were synthesized.
► Results showed that RhB can be decomposed using a 4 W LED lamp as visible light.
► The coupling of Sb2O3 and WO3 enhanced the photocatalytic activity of WO3.