Deposition of WC on TiO2 nanosheets with exposed (001) facets for photocatalytic degradation

Anatase TiO2 nanosheets with exposed (001) facets were prepared by a hydrothermal method under HF condition. Then, commercial WC particles were deposited on TiO2 nanosheets by physical mixing method. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms. To investigate the effect of WC loading on the photocatalytic performance, the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye was conducted under simulated light. The results indicated that the WC/TiO2 exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than pure TiO2 catalyst. When the WC loading was 10 wt%, the degradation efficiency reached 90.2% within 60 min. The enhanced photocatalytic performance may be attributed to the introduction of WC particles which could react as an electron trap and promote the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs of TiO2. Meanwhile, the trapping experiment confirmed that superoxide radical (·O2 - ) and hole (h+) played leading roles in the degradation of RhB.