title: Synthesis of TiO2/WO3 nanoparticles via sonochemical approach for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under visible light illumination.
abstract: Through an ultrasound assisted method, TiO2/WO3 nanoparticles were synthesized at room temperature. The XRD pattern of as-prepared TiO2/WO3 nanoparticles matches well with that of pure monoclinic WO3 and rutile TiO2 nanoparticles. TEM images show that the prepared TiO2/WO3 nanoparticles consist of mixed square and hexagonal shape particles about 8-12nm in diameter. The photocatalytic activity of TiO2/WO3 nanoparticles was tested for the degradation of a wastewater containing methylene blue (MB) under visible light illumination. The TiO2/WO3 nanoparticles exhibits a higher degradation rate constant (6.72×10(-4)s(-1)) than bare TiO2 nanoparticles (1.72×10(-4)s(-1)) under similar experimental conditions.
authors.affiliation: Nanomaterials and Solar Energy Conversion Lab, Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology, Trichy 620 015, India. Electronic address: sanand@nitt.edu.
authors.forename: Sambandam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Anandan
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Trichy 620 015, India.
authors.forename: Thirugnanasambandam
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sivasankar
authors.affiliation: Institut Universitarid'Electroquímica, Departament de Química Física, Universitatd'Alacant, Apartat 99, E-03080 Alacant, Spain.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lana-Villarreal
keywords: Methylene blue; Photocatalysis; Sonochemical synthesis; TEM; TiO(2)/WO(3) nanoparticles