Microemulsion synthesis of ZnO-ZnWO4 nanoparticles for superior photodegradation of organic dyes in water

In the present research, ZnO-ZnWO4 nanocomposite was synthesized by a surfactant assisted microemulsion method. The characteristics of ZnO-ZnWO4 were characterized using various analytical methods. As the amount of ZnWO4 was increased in the composite up to 30 wt%, the particle size decreased. Adding further ZnWO4 resulted in an increase in the grain size. A shift in the energy band gap value from 3.2 to 3.16 eV was observed in the samples by adding 30 wt% ZnWO4. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared nanocatalysts was investigated via photodegradation of methylene blue. The samples obtained from ZnO-30 wt% ZnWO4 heterojunction composite showed the highest activity with 96% photodegradation efficiency.