Hydrothermal synthesis of hierarchical flower-like Bi2WO6 microspheres with enhanced visible-light photoactivity

Three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical flower-like Bi2WO6 microspheres assembled from 2D nanosheets were successfully prepared by a simple hydrothermal route using the non-ionic surfactant F127 (EO100-PO65-EO100) as the morphology director. On the basis of the evolution of the morphologies as a function of reaction time, a possible formation mechanism for the hierarchical architecture was proposed. The photocatalytic activities of the as-prepared Bi2WO6 samples were evaluated for the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible-light irradiation. Due to the combined effects of large surface area and efficient separation of charge carriers, the hierarchical flower-like Bi2WO6 microspheres exhibited improved photocatalytic performances.