Understanding photocatalytic coupled-dye degradation, and photoelectrocatalytic water splitting and CO2 reduction over WO3/MoO3 hybrid nanostructures

WO3/MoO3 hybrid nanostructures were first prepared by a two-step hydrothermal method and applied to photocatalytic coupled-dye degradation, photoelectrocatalytic water splitting and CO2 reduction. Methyl orange (MO), rhodamine B (RhB) and methylene blue (MB) were used to examine dye coupling effect for photodegradation. Poorly photodegraded MO was found to be easily removed by coupling with MB. W-rich oxide material was found to be efficient for removal of MO and MB while Mo-rich material was more efficient for RhB. The WO3/MoO3 hybrid structure showed a dramatically improved performance than those of pure WO3 and MoO3 for water splitting and CO2 reduction. (C) 2018 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.