Tungsten oxide nanowire-reduced graphene oxide aerogel for high-efficiency visible light photocatalysis

A light, 3-D, porous aerogel was fabricated by way of a simple approach from 1-D tungsten oxide nanowires and 2-D reduced graphene oxide sheets. The as-prepared graphene oxide, tungsten oxide nanowires, and tungsten oxide-reduced graphene oxide (W18O49-RGO) aerogel were characterised. The photocatalytic activities of as-prepared aerogel under visible light irradiation were investigated through the degradation of six different organic dyes including Rhodamine B, reactive black 39, reactive yellow 145, weak acid black BR, methyl orange, and weak acid yellow G. In comparison with the pure W18O49 nanowires, the prepared W18O49-RGO aerogel had significantly improved photocatalytic efficiency. Also, the photocatalysis of W18O49-RGO aerogel maintained its efficiency after 30 cycles for each of the six dyes. The photocatalytic mechanism was studied by adding hole and radical scavengers: the results confirmed that the holes generated in W18O49-RGO aerogel played a key role in the visible light photocatalytic process.