Fabrication of WO3 nanorods on reduced graphene oxide sheets with augmented visible light photocatalytic activity for efficient mineralization of dye

Highlights: • One-pot synthesis of WO₃/RGO composite was presented. • WO₃/RGO showed 4-fold higher photocatalytic performance than that of pure WO₃. • This improvement was attributed to the well-defined WO₃-RGO interfaces. • The interface between microstructure and dye is a factor to enhance degradation. Direct evidence for greatly enhanced photocatalytic performance was observed in the photocatalytic purification of organic pollutant by applying tungsten trioxide (WO₃) nanorods on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets. We reported a viable strategy to fabricate WO₃/RGO composites via an in-situ solvothermal method. In addition, the photocatalytic performance of as-prepared WO₃ and WO₃/RGO composites were evaluated by monitoring the degradation of methylthionine chloride (MB)-contained wastewater under visible light irradiation, where more than 94.1% photocatalytic degradation efficiency is achieved within 150 min by WG3 under visible light irradiation, being 71.8% higher than that of pure WO₃. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of WO₃/RGO composite is mainly attributed to the fact that the formation of well-defined WO₃-RGO interfaces can efficiently restrain the recombination of photogenerated charges. Additionally, the mineralization degree of MB was analyzed by TOC. This work manufactures a promising application of current water-pollution issues owing to its great photocatalytic efficiency and high recyclability.