Facile synthesis of WO3 nanorods/g-C3N4 composites with enhanced photocatalytic activity

In this paper, WO3 nanorods (NRs)/g-C3N4 composite photocatalysts were constructed by assembling WO3 NRs with sheet-like g-C3N4. The as-synthesized photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and photoluminescence. The photocatalytic activity of the photocatalysts was evaluated by degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under simulated sunlight irradiation. Compared to pristine WO3 NRs and g-C3N4, WO3 NRs/g-C3N4 composites exhibit greatly enhanced photocatalytic activities. The enhanced performance of WO3 NRs/g-C3N4 composite photocatalysts was mainly ascribed to the synergistic effect between WO3 NRs and g-C3N4, which improved the photogenerated carrier separation. A possible degradation mechanism of RhB over the WO3 NRs/g-C3N4 composite photocatalysts was proposed. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and Techria Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.