Chemical Physics Letters, Vol.702, 49-56, 2018
Sol-gel synthesis of Bi2WO6/graphene thin films with enhanced photocatalytic performance for nitric monoxide oxidation under visible light irradiation
Bi2WO6 and Bi2WO6/graphene thin films were fabricated by spin coating and post annealing at 600 degrees C for 2 h. In four different thin film samples, the graphene concentration was controlled as 0, 2, 4 and 6 wt%, respectively. The morphology, grain size and elemental distribution of the thin films were characterized by SEM and TEM. The crystallization and crystal phases were determined by XRD patterns, and the existence of graphene in Bi2WO6/graphene composite thin films were confirmed by Raman spectra. The photocatalytic performance of Bi2WO6 and Bi2WO6/graphene thin films was investigated by oxidizing NO under visible light irradiation. The results showed that Bi2WO6/graphene with 4 wt% of graphene showed the highest photocatalytic performance among all samples. This could be attributed to the increased electron conductivity with the presence of graphene. However, a further increased graphene concentration resulted in a decreased photocatalytic performance. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.