Three-dimensional Ag₂O/WO₃·0.33H₂O heterostructures for improving photocatalytic activity

Highlights: • Ag₂O/WO₃·0.33H₂O 3D network heterostructures are prepared via a simple precipitatation method. • Ag₂O/WO₃·0.33H₂O networks exhibit much enhanced photocatalytic activity. • High photocatalytic activity is attributed to its heterostructure and 3D architectures. - Abstract: Three-dimensional Ag₂O/WO₃·0.33H₂O heterostructures were fabricated by loading Ag₂O nanoparticles on WO₃·0.33H₂O 3D networks via a simple chemical precipitation method. The Ag₂O/WO₃·0.33H₂O heterostructures exhibited much enhanced photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under simulated solar light irradiation. The optimal molar ratio of Ag₂O and WO₃·0.33H₂O is 1:2. The outstanding photocatalytic activity of the Ag₂O/WO₃·0.33H₂O can be attributed to its large surface area of the three-dimensional networks, the enhanced sunlight absorption and the prevention of electrons–holes combination from the heterostructures. The experiment result demonstrates that wide band gap semiconductor (WO₃·0.33H₂O) modified by narrow band gap metal oxide (Ag₂O) with 3D architecture will be an effective route to enhance its photocatalytic activity