Facile photochemical synthesis of ZnWO4/Ag yolk-shell microspheres with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity

ZnWO4/Ag yolk-shell microspheres have been prepared by a simple and cost effective photochemical method. The crystalline phase, physicochemical properties and morphologies of the products were characterized by XRD, UV-vis DRS, SEM, TEM and EDXA. The photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared ZnWO4/Ag samples was evaluated by the degradation of methyl blue (MB) under xenon lamp irradiation. In comparison with pure ZnWO4 yolk-shell microspheres, ZnWO4/Ag yolk-shell microspheres displayed dramatically better visible-light driven photocatalytic performance toward dye photo-removal reaction. In light of its outstanding performance and unique hollow structures, ZnWO4/Ag yolk-shell microspheres exhibit a promising potential application in the development of visible-light photocatalysts.