Controllable synthesis and enhanced visible photocatalytic degradation performances of Bi₂WO₆–carbon nanofibers heteroarchitectures

Bi₂WO₆–carbon nanofibers (Bi₂WO₆–CNFs) heteroarchitectures were fabricated by two steps consisting of the preparation of CNFs by electrospinning and growth of Bi₂WO₆ on the CNFs through ethylene glycol solvothermal processing. The results showed that the loading amounts of Bi₂WO₆ on the surface of CNFs could be controlled by adjusting the precursor concentration for the fabrication of Bi₂WO₆–CNFs heteroarchitectures during the solvothermal process. The photocatalytic tests revealed that the obtained Bi₂WO₆–CNFs heteroarchitectures showed higher photocatalytic property under visible light to degrade Rhodamine B than pure Bi₂WO₆ synthesized by solvothermal process in the absence of CNFs owing to improved separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes. Moreover, the Bi₂WO₆–CNFs heteroarchitectures could be separated easily by sedimentation due to their one-dimensional nanostructural property. Meanwhile, the photocatalytic activity of Bi₂WO₆–CNFs heteroarchitectures was stable during the recycling due to the strong interactions between Bi₂WO₆ nanosheets and CNFs. Trapping experiment suggested that \({\text{O}}_{ 2}^{ \cdot - }\), instead of OH·, was the main active species during the photocatalytic process of the Bi₂WO–CNFs heteroarchitectures.