Tungsten-based nanocatalysts with different structures for visible light responsive photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A

Environmental pollution, such as water contamination, is a critical issue that must be absolutely addressed. Here, three different morphologies of tungsten-based photocatalysts (WO₃ nanorods, WO₃/WS₂ nanobricks, WO₃/WS₂ nanorods) are made using a simple hydrothermal method by changing the solvents (H₂O, DMF, aqueous HCl solution). The as-prepared nanocatalysts have excellent thermal stability, large porosity, and high hydrophilicity. The results show all materials have good photocatalytic activity in aqueous media, with WO₃/WS₂ nanorods (NRs) having the best activity in the photodegradation of bisphenol A (BPA) under visible-light irradiation. This may originate from increased migration of charge carriers and effective prevention of electron‒hole recombination in WO₃/WS₂ NRs, whereby this photocatalyst is able to generate more reactive •OH and •O₂^– species, leading to greater photocatalytic activity. About 99.6% of BPA is photodegraded within 60 min when using 1.5 g/L WO₃/WS₂ NRs and 5.0 mg/L BPA at pH 7.0. Additionally, the optimal conditions (pH, catalyst dosage, initial BPA concentration) for WO₃/WS₂ NRs are also elaborately investigated. These rod-like heterostructures are expressed as potential catalysts with excellent photostability, efficient reusability, and highly active effectivity in different types of water. In particular, the removal efficiency of BPA by WO₃/WS₂ NRs reduces by only 1.5% after five recycling runs and even reaches 89.1% in contaminated lake water. This study provides promising insights for the nearly complete removal of BPA from wastewater or different water resources, which is advantageous to various applications in environmental remediation.