Hydrothermal synthesis of mesoporous WO3–TiO2 powders with enhanced photocatalytic activity

•Mesoporous WO3–TiO2 powders were synthesized by hydrothermal method.•Two kinds of pores formed which are holes on the grains and pores between particles.•The mesoporous WO3–TiO2 powders have higher adsorption/photocatalytic activity.•The P123 addition amount and calcination temperature have effects on the properties.

Mesoporous WO3–TiO2 powders were prepared via hydrothermal synthesis using nonionic surfactant P123 as template. The influences of template P123 addition amount and calcining temperature on the pore structure and properties of WO3–TiO2 powders were investigated. The microstructure, morphology and pore size distribution of the WO3–TiO2 powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), UV–Vis spectroscopy and N2 adsorption–desorption analysis etc. The results indicate that the calcination temperature and P123 addition amount have great effects on the specific surface area and pore volume of mesoporous WO3–TiO2 powders. The pore volume and specific surface area of the as-prepared mesoporous WO3–TiO2 powders were 0.40–0.60 m3/g and 32–52 m2/g, respectively. The as-prepared mesoporous WO3–TiO2 powders, calcined at 400 °C with 0.2 mol% P123/(W + Ti) and calcined at 600 °C with 0.8 mol% P123/(W + Ti), exhibited highest adsorption/photocatalytic ability. With the increase of the P123 adding amount, the synthesized mesoporous WO3–TiO2 samples calcined at 600 °C showed an increasing tendency of photocatalytic degradation rate.

Graphical abstractMesoporous WO3–TiO2 powders were synthesized by hydrothermal method using P123 as template. The P123 addition amount and calcination temperature have great effects on the pore structure and adsorption/photocatalytic activity. The mesoporous WO3–TiO2 powders have higher adsorption/photocatalytic activity than the non-porous powders.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide