Influence of octadecylamine on the phase composition and the photocatalytic property of the tungsten oxide

• The flower-like WO3/W18O49 was synthesized by a facile solvothermal method.
• The WO3/W18O49 transformed into Pure 1D W18O49 by the introduction of octadecylamine.
• Pure 1D W18O49 have significantly improved photocatalytic performance.
• The improved efficiency reaches 73.40% under visible-light irradiation for 63 min.

The flower-like WO3/W18O49 and pure 1D W18O49 were synthesized by a facile solvothermal method. The phase composition and morphology of the samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, SAED, XPS, BET and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra. Results show that octadecylamine has an important effect on the phase composition and it is beneficial to synthesize pure 1D W18O49. In comparison with the WO3/W18O49, the photocatalytic antibacterial activity of the pure W18O49 nanowire is dramatically enhanced. The degradation efficiency reaches 73.40% under visible-light irradiation for 63 min. This improved photocatalytic property was found related to the larger surface area and increased oxygen vacancies.