Ethylene glycol-assisted solvothermal fabrication of ZnWO4 nanostructures with tunable size, optical properties, and photocatalytic activities

Large scale of uniform small ZnWO4 nanocrystals and ZnWO4 nanorods with tunable size have been fabricated in ethylene glycol (EG)-assisted solvothermal process, ZnWO4 samples ranging in shape from tiny nanocrystals to nanorods were dependent on the volume ratio of EG and water (H2O). The optical properties of ZnWO4 nanocrystals and nanorods were investigated by photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, showing longer ZnWO4 nanorods own the increased PL intensity in comparison with that of shorter ones and small ZnWO4 nanocrystals. The photocatalytic performance of ZnWO4 nanostructures was studied also, which indicated that the increased size of ZnWO4 nanorods resulted the degradation of photocatalytic performance in aqueous solution. (orig.)