Biomimetic Bi2WO6 with hierarchical structures from butterfly wings for visible light absorption

Biomimetic Bi2WO6 with hierarchical structures inherited from butterfly wings (morph-Bi2WO6) were fabricated by a simple soaking and calcinating method. The hierarchical structures down to nanometer level were retained in the resultant morph-Bi2WO6 with pure orthorhombic phase, indicating that our biomimetic approach is effective in controlling the composition and structure of Bi2WO6. The reflectance spectra showed an improved absorption property of morph-Bi2WO6 under visible light over the Bi2WO6 powder synthesized under the same condition without butterfly wings, owing to the hierarchical structures. The strategy is expected to extend to other ternary compound materials for potential applications in water splitting and photocatalyst.

► Bi2WO6 with hierarchical structures was synthesized from butterfly wings.
► Morph-Bi2WO6 was controlled with pure orthorhombic phase.
► The method could be extended to other ternary compound with biomimetic structures.
► Morph-Bi2WO6 showed an improved absorption property under visible light.