Detection of oxygen species generated by WO3 modification fullerene/TiO2 in the degradation of 1,5-diphenyl carbazide

•Reactive oxygen species were detected through oxidation reaction from DPCI to DPCO.•Generated reactive oxygen species and hydroxyl radicals can be analysed by DPCI degradation.•C60 have good effect in photo/ultrasonic degradation process.•Enhanced adsorption capacity can increase the degradation effect.•Photocatalytic activity attributed to photo-absorption effect by C60 and cooperative effect of WO3 and TiO2.

In the present work, powders with different relative mole ratios of WO3-fullerene/TiO2 were irradiated by visible light and ultrasonic. The composite obtained was characterized by BET surface area measurements, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV–vis analysis. A methylene blue (MB) solution under visible light and ultrasonic irradiation was used to determine the catalytic activity. The generation of reactive oxygen species were detected through the oxidation reaction from 1,5-diphenyl carbazide (DPCI) to 1,5-diphenyl carbazone (DPCO). Finally, we performed experiments to find the optimum relative mole ratio of fullerene for the degradation of MB.

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