Controlling oxygen vacancies of WOx suboxides by ZnWO4 nanophase hybridization

Substoichiometric tungsten oxide (WOx, 2 < x < 3) nanomaterials are important nanoscale semiconductor materials with broad applications in optoelectronic devices; however a controllable modification of their physical properties remains challenging task. Here, we report an alternative green synthesis of hybrid nanostructures composed by WOx and ZnWO4 phases in ethanol via a solvothermal process using ZnO and WCl6 as the precursors. The results indicate that the formation of ZnWO4 leads to the structural conversion of WOx from nanorods to nanoparticles due to the effect of ZnWO4 on the side growth of WOx nanostructures. Moreover, the surface morphology tailored by ZnWO4 and crystalline phase transformation induce different photoluminescence (PL) emission from pure WOx nanostructures and WOx/ZnWO4 hybrid nanostructures due to the increased number of oxygen vacancies.