Synthesis of WO3 nanorods through anodization in the presence of citric acid: Formation mechanism, properties and photoelectrocatalytic performance

In this study, WO3 nanomds have been fabricated by simple anodization in the presence of different amounts of citric acid and at different anodization times. A comprehensive morphological, structural, electrochemical and photoelectrochemical characterization of different samples has been carried out. Moreover, a formation mechanism for WO3 nanorods has been proposed. Finally, these nanostructures have been proven to be excellent visible-light photoelectrocatalysts to remove persistent organic pollutants present in wastewaters, such as fenamiphos. Almost the 80% of this molecule was eliminated from the test solution after 180 min of irradiation, indicating the great potential of these WO3 nanorods, fabricated following a very simple and unexpensive procedure, in the energy and environmental fields as photoelectrocatalysts.

Automated summary

The study successfully fabricated WO3 nanorods through a simple method and proposed a formation mechanism. The experimental results demonstrate that these nanorods exhibit excellent photoelectrocatalytic performance under visible light, showing great potential for the removal of persistent organic pollutants.