Synthesis and Characterization of WO3/CeO2 Heterostructured Nanoparticles for Photodegradation of Indigo Carmine Dye

Duangdao Channei; Kantapat Chansaenpak; Sukon Phanichphant; Panatda Jannoey; Wilawan Khanitchaidecha; Auppatham Nakaruk

doi:10.1021/acsomega.1c02453

Synthesis and Characterization of WO₃/CeO₂ Heterostructured Nanoparticles for Photodegradation of Indigo Carmine Dye

ACS Omega. 2021 Jul 22;6(30):19771-19777. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.1c02453. eCollection 2021 Aug 3.

Authors

Duangdao Channei^{1

2}, Kantapat Chansaenpak³, Sukon Phanichphant⁴, Panatda Jannoey⁵, Wilawan Khanitchaidecha^{2

6}, Auppatham Nakaruk^{2

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand.
² Centre of Excellence for Innovation and Technology for Water Treatment, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand.
³ National Nanotechnology Center, National Science and Technology Development Agency, Thailand Science Park, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand.
⁴ Materials Science Research Center, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.
⁵ Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Science, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand.
⁶ Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand.
⁷ Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand.

Abstract

WO₃/CeO₂ heterostructured nanocomposites containing different WO₃ ratios (0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 1.0 wt %) were synthesized by a precipitation method. The coupling of CeO₂ and WO₃ with a high specific surface area noticeably enhanced the photocatalytic activity of indigo carmine (IC) degradation under visible-light irradiation. The degradation rate constants (k) of 0.5 wt % WO₃/CeO₂ nanocomposites reached 4 and 5 times higher than those of CeO₂ and WO₃, respectively. Regarding the experimental results, the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the CeO₂ spherical nanoparticles and rod-shaped WO₃ were assigned to the cubic fluorite and orthorhombic phase structures, respectively. The increasing photocatalytic activity of nanocomposite samples could be attributed to the heterojunction of the photocatalysts with efficient charge separation and strong oxidative ability, which were confirmed by the photoluminescence spectra and diffuse reflectance spectrometry. The staggered heterojunction of the nanocomposite promoted efficient electron transfer and suppressed the recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes during the process.