PVP Assisted Hydrothermal Synthesis of Bi2WO6 Nanoflowers and Their Photocatalytic Activity

Hollow Bi2WO6 nanoflowers were synthesized by a PVP modified hydrothermal method, and their morphology and structure were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, PL and UV-vis analysis. A series of controlling experiments indicate PVP plays an important role in the formation of the hollow hierarchical structure. Without adding PVP, the morphology of Bi2WO6 is the solid nanoplate. When a small amount of PVP is added, the surface of Bi2WO6 splits, and the hollow flowerlike morphology forms. The crystalline size of Bi2WO6 also slightly increases with PVP content increasing. The as-prepared PVP-Bi2WO6 shows the improved photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation. PL spectra show that the emission intensity of PVP assisted Bi2WO6 is weaker than that of pure PVP, which means the high-mobility of PVP-Bi2WO6 is obtained. PVP assisted Bi2WO6 nanoflower can be potentially used for practical waste water treatments.