Solar photocatalytic activity of chemical solution-prepared barium tungstate nanostructures

Nanostructured barium tungstate (BaWO4) as a solar photocatalyst has been successfully synthesized by a chemical solution method. The sample was characterized using X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Then, the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) in an aqueous medium was evaluated with nanostructured BaWO4 under direct sunlight irradiation. The effects of the initial pH, and the catalyst dosage on the dye degradation were studied in order to achieve maximum degradation efficiency. The nanostructured BaWO4 exhibited good photocatalytic activity for degradation of MB under sunlight irradiation at pH 10 after 3 h of irradiation. Also, the optimal catalyst loading of 25 mg/L obtained throughout the present study. The degradation of the dye followed the first-order reaction and the adsorption obeyed the Langmuir model.