Environmental remediation properties of Bi2WO6 hierarchical nanostructure: A joint experimental and theoretical investigation

Abstract In this work, different structures of Bi 2 WO 6 (BWO) were synthesized using a template-assisted microwave process. The BWO samples were characterized using various methods such as X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS), and Raman Spectroscopy. The results show that the templates were able to promote changes in morphology and electronic properties. The photocatalytic experiment showed higher photocatalytic activity in RhB dye under UV light irradiation for the BWO sample, as compared with other samples. This behavior was attributed to better crystallinity and lower e − /h + pair recombination rates supported by XRD and photoluminescence experiments.