Fabrication of WO3 nanorods on reduced graphene oxide sheets with augmented visible light photocatalytic activity for efficient mineralization of dye

Direct evidence for greatly enhanced photocatalytic performance was observed in the photocatalytic purification of organic pollutant by applying tungsten trioxide (WO3) nanorods on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets. We reported a viable strategy to fabricate WO3/RGO composites via an in-situ solvothermal method. In addition, the photocatalytic performance of as-prepared WO3 and WO3/RGO composites were evaluated by monitoring the degradation of methylthionine chloride (MB)-contained wastewater under visible light irradiation, where more than 94.1% photocatalytic degradation efficiency is achieved within 150 min by WG(3) under visible light irradiation, being 71.8% higher than that of pure WO3. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of WO3/RGO composite is mainly attributed to the fact that the formation of well-defined WO3-RGO interfaces can efficiently restrain the recombination of photogenerated charges. Additionally, the mineralization degree of MB was analyzed by TOC. This work manufactures a promising application of current water-pollution issues owing to its great photocatalytic efficiency and high recyclability. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.