Preparation of heterostructured WO(3)/TiO(2) catalysts from wood fibers and its versatile photodegradation abilities

A facile route was adopted to synthesize heterostructured WO(3)/TiO(2) photocatalysts from wood fibers through a two-steps hydrothermal method and a calcination process. The prepared WO(3)/TiO(2)-wood fibers were used as photocatalysts under UV irradiation for photodegradation of rhodamine B, methylene blue and methyl orange. In calcination process, the wood fibers acted as carbon substrates to prepare the WO(3)/TiO(2) photocatalysts with high surface area and unique morphology. Thus, the significant enhanced photodegradation efficiency of the organic pollutants with the WO(3)/TiO(2)-wood fibers under UV irradiation was obtained. The photodegradation rates are measured which confirms the highest performance of the WO(3)/TiO(2)-wood fibers after calcination in comparison to the TiO(2)-wood fibers after calcination and the pure WO(3)/TiO(2) after calcination. Moreover, the photodegradation efficiency of the WO(3)/TiO(2)-wood fibers after calcination under visible light is high. Our results demonstrated that the WO(3)/TiO(2)-wood fibers after calcination are a promising candidate for wastewater treatment in practical application.