ZIF-8@polyoxometalate derived Si-doped ZnWO4@ZnO nanocapsules with open-shaped structures for efficient visible light photocatalysis

In this work, we report silicon doped ZnWO4@ZnO nanocapsules with open-shaped structures obtained by a facile encapsulation–calcination strategy derived from ZIF-8 and polyoxometalates. Owing to the unique structure and elemental composition, the as-prepared samples respond well to visible light irradiation for degradating Rhodamine B. The possible photocatalytic reaction mechanisms are presented based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations.