Controlled synthesis of hierarchical Bi2WO6microspheres with improved visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity.

Three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical Bi2WO6microspheres were successfully synthesized by a simple inorganic salt-assisted hydrothermal process. Morphology modulation of the obtained products could be easily realized by tuning the concentration of the nitrate. It is worthy to note that the obtained hierarchical Bi2WO6microspheres exhibit powerful visible-light-photocatalytic activity for the degradation of Rhodamine-B (RhB) under 300 W Xe lamp light irradiation. A possible salt-assisted formation mechanism was proposed on the basis of the experimental results. Furthermore, this work might represent a novel synthesis strategy for other photocatalysts with desired photocatalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]