Influence of doping and solid solution formation on photocatalytic activity of ZrW₂O₈ with cubic structure

Abstract

Pure and Mo doped ZrW₂O₈ compounds have been synthesised by a sol–gel process. The structure, morphology and properties of as synthesised samples have been investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, UV–Vis spectrometer and photoluminescence. The analysis results reveal that the crystal structure, morphology, band gap and photocatalytic activity of ZrW_2 − xMo_xO₈ compounds can be tuned by changing the Mo doping content. When compared with pure ZrW₂O₈, the substitution of Mo in different doping ratios narrows the band gap energy. The photocatalytic activity of the samples is evaluated by the degradation of rhodamine B, indicating that the photocatalytic activities of ZrW_2 − xMo_xO₈ compounds depend on the Mo doping content. The incorporation of Mo dopants can modify the electronic structure of ZrW₂O₈ and prohibit the recombination of photo-induced charge carriers. ZrWMoO₈ has the greatest photocatalytic activity, and it displays good stability during the photocatalytic and recycling processes.

Keywords:

• ZrW₂O₈
• Mo doping
• Photocatalytic activity