Fabrication of a monoclinic/hexagonal junction in WO_3 and its enhanced photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B

A series of WO3 samples with different crystalline phases were prepared by the thermal decomposition method from ammonium tungstate hydrate.X-ray diffraction（XRD）,scanning electron microscopy（SEM）,high-resolution transmission electron microscopy（HRTEM）,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,and N2 adsorption-desorption were used to characterize the crystalline phase,morphology,particle size,chemical composition,and surface area of the WO3 samples.The formation of hexagonal（h-WO3） and monoclinic（m-WO3） crystal structures of WO3 at different temperatures or different times was confirmed by XRD.m-WO3 is formed at 600 ℃,while m-WO3 starts to transform into h-WO3 at 800℃.However,h-WO3,which forms at 800℃,may transform into m-WO3 by increasing the calcination temperature to 1000℃.SEM results indicate that m-WO3 particles exhibit a bulky shape with heavy aggregates,while h-WO3 particles exhibit a rod-like shape.Moreover,m-WO3 crystals are sporadically patched on the surface of the h-WO3 rod-like particles,resulting in the exposure of both m-WO3 and h-WO3 on the surface.It is observed that the monoclinic phase（m-WO3）/hexagonal phase（h-WO3） junction was fabricated by tuning the calcination temperature and calcination time.The relative ratios between m-WO3 and h-WO3 in the phase junction can readily be tailored by control of the calcination time.The photocatalytic activities of WO3 with different crystalline phases were evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B as a model pollutant.A higher photocatalytic activity was observed in the WO3 sample with the m-WO3/h-WO3junction as compared with the sample with only m-WO3.The improvement of photocatalytic activity can be attributed to the reduction of the electron-hole recombination rate owing to the formation of the phase junction,whose presence has been confirmed by HRTEM and photoluminescence spectra.

Electro-catalytic degradation properties of Ti/SnO_2–Sb electrodes doped with different rare earths

Ti/SnO2–Sb electrode has a good effect on the removal of organic pollutants. But its short service life limits its large-scale application in industry. Electro-catalytic degradation performances and service life of the electrode can be significantly improved by doping rare earth（RE） ions into the oxide coating of Ti/SnO2–Sb electrode. Ti/SnO2–Sb electrodes doped with different RE elements（Ce, Dy, La, and Eu） were prepared by the thermal decomposition method at 550 ℃. Electro-catalytic degradation performances of electrodes doped with different RE elements were evaluated by linear sweep voltammetry（LSV） and Tafel curves. During the electrolysis,the conversion of p-nitrophenol was performed with these electrodes as anodes under galvanostatic control. The structures and morphologies of the surface coating of the electrodes were characterized by scanning electron microscope（SEM）. The results demonstrate that the electro-catalytic degradation performances of Ti/SnO2–Sb electrodes are improved to different levels by doping different RE ions. Improved Ti/SnO2–Sb electrodes by the introduction of different RE have higher oxygen evolution potential, better electro-catalysis ability, better coverage,and longer electrode life.