Multifunctional ZnWO4 nanoparticles for photocatalytic removal of pollutants and disinfection of bacteria

Abstract Herein, ZnWO4 nanoparticles (NPS) with controllable size were synthesized by a facile solvothermal method via changing EG concentration in the solvent. The physicochemical properties of ZnWO4 NPS were characterized by XRD, TEM, EDS, BET, XPS, UV-vis DRS, PL and photocurrent. The results shown that the EG concentration has a great influence on the morphology, size and crystallinity of ZnWO4 NPS. On the one hand, the photocatalytic activity of ZnWO4-EG62.5 was obviously better than that of ZnWO4-EG0 in the removal of hazardous pollutants including Cr6+, MB, RhB and MO by 71.4, 33.3, 13.5 and 21.3 %, respectively. Moreover, ZnWO4-EG62.5 displayed excellent photocatalytic stability for Cr6+ reduction. The ZnWO4-EG75, on the other hand, exhibited the best antibacterial activity to Bacillus subtilis and Vibrio alginolyticus, and the maximal inhibition zone area of Bacillus subtilis and Vibrio alginolyticus over ZnWO4-EG75 was 3.4 and 6.8 times than that of ZnWO4-EG0, respectively. Our work indicated that ZnWO4 NPS presented potential future application in water treatment and marine antifouling, and it is a feasible approach to enhance the photocatalytic and antibacterial performance of semiconductor NPs by controlling its size and crystallinity.