Self-assembled hollow sphere shaped Bi2WO6/RGO composites for efficient sunlight-driven photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants

Abstract The urge to purify refractory organic wastewater without secondary pollution is pushing forward the use of photocatalysis. However, the complicated preparation procedures and low visible-light utilization efficiencies of currently-employed photocatalytic materials limit its practical applications. Herein, we design a facile and cost-effective route for the controllable synthesis of hollow sphere shaped Bi 2 WO 6 /reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composites, which can efficiently degrade five organic wastewater, including rhodamine B, methyl orange, phenol, sulfamonomethoxine and sulfanilamide. The as-prepared Bi 2 WO 6 /RGO hybrids were well characterized and exhibited much advanced sunlight-driven photocatalytic activity as compared to that of the pure Bi 2 WO 6 . Such a high performance could be attributed to the enhanced light harvesting efficiency and improved charge separation efficiency in the composites. A possible formation mechanism of Bi 2 WO 6 /RGO composite was also proposed. This study highlights the rational design of novel natural-sunlight-responsive photocatalyst.