Engineering a staggered type-II Bi2WO6/WO3 heterojunction with improved photocatalytic activity in wastewater treatment

Artem S Belousov; Alina A Parkhacheva; Valeria A Shotina; Dmitry N Titaev; Evgeny V Suleimanov; Iqrash Shafiq

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142316

Engineering a staggered type-II Bi₂WO₆/WO₃ heterojunction with improved photocatalytic activity in wastewater treatment

Chemosphere. 2024 May 10:359:142316. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142316. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Artem S Belousov¹, Alina A Parkhacheva², Valeria A Shotina², Dmitry N Titaev², Evgeny V Suleimanov², Iqrash Shafiq³

Affiliations

¹ Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, Gagarin Avenue 23, Nizhny Novgorod, 603950, Russian Federation. Electronic address: belousov@ichem.unn.ru.
² Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, Gagarin Avenue 23, Nizhny Novgorod, 603950, Russian Federation.
³ Department of Chemical Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Defence Road, Off Raiwind Road, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan.

PMID: 38735501
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142316

Abstract

In recent years, the removal organic pollutants from wastewater by advanced oxidation processes, especially photocatalysis, has become a meaningful approach due to its eco-friendliness and low cost. Herein, staggered type-II Bi₂WO₆/WO₃ heterojunction photocatalysts were prepared by a facile hydrothermal route and investigated by modern physicochemical methods (X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, low-temperature nitrogen adsorption-desorption, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy). The optimized BWOW-5 photocatalyst exhibited a H₂O₂-assisted photocatalytic methylene blue removal efficiency of 94.1% (k = 0.01414 min^-1) within 180 min under optimal reaction conditions, which is much higher than that of unmodified Bi₂WO₆ and WO₃ due to efficient separation of the photogenerated charge carriers. The trapping experiments demonstrated that photogenerated hydroxyl radicals and holes play a key role in the photodegradation reaction. Moreover, the optimized BWOW-5 heterojunction photocatalyst exhibited excellent activity in the H₂O₂-assisted degradation of other pollutants, namely phenol, isoniazid, levofloxacin, and dibenzothiophene with the removal rate of 63.1, 73.6, 95.0, and 72.4%, respectively. This investigation offers a design strategy for Bi₂WO₆-based multifunctional photocatalytic composites with improved activity for organic pollutant degradation.

Keywords: Advanced oxidation processes; Heterojunction; Photocatalyst; Visible light; Wastewater treatment.