Production of heterostructured TiO2/WO3 Nanoparticulated photocatalysts through a simple one pot method

This article reports a simple one-pot route to synthesize TiO2/WO3 nano-heterostructures applied as photocatalysts to the degradation of water contaminants. The method was based on the formation of a polymeric structure from Ti and W complexes that were evenly distributed in the precursor to avoid phase separation during calcination steps. This strategy was shown to effectively produce the desired heterostructures, which were well-distributed and possessed interesting photocatalytic activities when compared with pristine oxides. Characterization of the heterostructures showed possible doping of each oxide, which may interfere with electronic properties. Additionally, an increase in surface area was observed according to TiO2 proportions. However, high-resolution electron microscopy confirmed that the heterostructures were properly obtained, and photoluminescence experiments were well correlated to catalytic activities. The results indicated higher efficiencies for heterostructures with higher contents of WO3, although improved activity was observed for the material with 50 wt% of each oxide. This facile synthesis, and the remarkable properties observed for this heterostructured catalytic material, confirmed that this route is a candidate for high production, allowing its application in solving real environmental problems. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved. (AU)