{"title":"High-performance photocatalytic and antibacterial properties of WO3/ZnO honeycomb structures: synthesis and mechanistic insights","authors":"B. Subash, R. Sasikala","doi":"10.1007/s13738-025-03190-3","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A hexagonal honeycomb-structured WO<sub>3</sub>-loaded ZnO catalyst was synthesized using a solvothermal method and characterized through various techniques, including FT-IR, XRD, FE-SEM, TEM, UV-Vis, DRS, PL, XPS, and BET measurements. The work novelty for WO<sub>3</sub>-loaded ZnO photocatalysts refers to the innovative aspects and new contributions to the field of photocatalysis that come from the combination of tungsten oxide (WO<sub>3</sub>) with zinc oxide (ZnO). This composite material is being studied to enhance photocatalytic activity under various conditions, including UV, visible and solar light irradiation. Furthermore, it will increase enhanced photocatalytic efficiency, charge carrier separation, synergistic effect, tuning band gap and energy aligment, durability and stability, etc. The influence of tungsten concentration on the surface morphology, structure, and optical properties was thoroughly investigated. XRD analysis confirmed the hexagonal wurtzite structure, with crystallite size decreasing from 36.95 to 28.11 nm as the WO<sub>3</sub> loading increased. Surface morphology revealed irregularly shaped grains, including chain-like, hexagonal, and spherical nanoparticles with slight size variations. The introduction of tungsten notably altered the properties of ZnO nanoparticles, with the grain size playing a key role in these modifications. Additionally, the band gap decreased with 5 wt% WO<sub>3</sub> loading. Photoluminescence spectra showed an emission at 482 nm, corresponding to blue-green emission bands. Additionally, the synthesized WO<sub>3</sub>/ZnO catalyst has also a wonderful photocatalytic performance in the degradation of three azo dyes: NBB, RR 120, and AR 27, when exposed to sunlight. Moreover, WO<sub>3</sub>-loaded ZnO nanoparticles exhibited enhanced antibacterial effectiveness against <i>E. coli</i>, <i>S. typhimurium</i>, and <i>P. mirabilis</i> strains.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":676,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Iranian Chemical Society","volume":"22 4","pages":"849 - 869"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of the Iranian Chemical Society","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13738-025-03190-3","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
A hexagonal honeycomb-structured WO3-loaded ZnO catalyst was synthesized using a solvothermal method and characterized through various techniques, including FT-IR, XRD, FE-SEM, TEM, UV-Vis, DRS, PL, XPS, and BET measurements. The work novelty for WO3-loaded ZnO photocatalysts refers to the innovative aspects and new contributions to the field of photocatalysis that come from the combination of tungsten oxide (WO3) with zinc oxide (ZnO). This composite material is being studied to enhance photocatalytic activity under various conditions, including UV, visible and solar light irradiation. Furthermore, it will increase enhanced photocatalytic efficiency, charge carrier separation, synergistic effect, tuning band gap and energy aligment, durability and stability, etc. The influence of tungsten concentration on the surface morphology, structure, and optical properties was thoroughly investigated. XRD analysis confirmed the hexagonal wurtzite structure, with crystallite size decreasing from 36.95 to 28.11 nm as the WO3 loading increased. Surface morphology revealed irregularly shaped grains, including chain-like, hexagonal, and spherical nanoparticles with slight size variations. The introduction of tungsten notably altered the properties of ZnO nanoparticles, with the grain size playing a key role in these modifications. Additionally, the band gap decreased with 5 wt% WO3 loading. Photoluminescence spectra showed an emission at 482 nm, corresponding to blue-green emission bands. Additionally, the synthesized WO3/ZnO catalyst has also a wonderful photocatalytic performance in the degradation of three azo dyes: NBB, RR 120, and AR 27, when exposed to sunlight. Moreover, WO3-loaded ZnO nanoparticles exhibited enhanced antibacterial effectiveness against E. coli, S. typhimurium, and P. mirabilis strains.
期刊介绍：
JICS is an international journal covering general fields of chemistry. JICS welcomes high quality original papers in English dealing with experimental, theoretical and applied research related to all branches of chemistry. These include the fields of analytical, inorganic, organic and physical chemistry as well as the chemical biology area. Review articles discussing specific areas of chemistry of current chemical or biological importance are also published. JICS ensures visibility of your research results to a worldwide audience in science. You are kindly invited to submit your manuscript to the Editor-in-Chief or Regional Editor. All contributions in the form of original papers or short communications will be peer reviewed and published free of charge after acceptance.
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