Solvothermal synthesis of highly active Bi2WO6 visible photocatalyst

Uniform Bi₂WO₆ spheres with high visible light activity were prepared via a solvothermal route. A variety of techniques including transmission electron micrographs (TEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), N₂ adsorption, FT-IR spectra, and UV–Vis spectra were employed to characterize the structure of the Bi₂WO₆ materials so obtained. The results show that the sphere-like Bi₂WO₆ samples were successfully prepared. And, under the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B, the samples demonstrated high activity, three times higher than that of a sample from the solid-state method. Moreover, the uniform structure made the sample easy to separate from the reaction solution, providing an intrinsic advantage to the normal Bi₂WO₆ samples.