Influence of glacial acetic acid on the synthesis and performance of WO3 photocatalytic materials

WO₃ with different morphologies and structures was prepared via a simple hydrothermal process. The synthesized samples were characterized via different techniques. The effect of the amount of glacial acetic acid added to the precursor solution on the morphology and structure of WO₃ samples was investigated. The amount of glacial acetic acid added was confirmed to be a key parameter in regulating the morphology and microstructure of WO₃. The photocatalytic activities of the samples have been examined by the degradation of the model pollutant. The WO₃ samples (WO₃-20) with {001} facet orientation prepared in the presence of 20 mL glacial acetic acid showed a degradation rate of 96.16% for Rhodamine-B (RhB) within 40 min. The excellent performance should be attributed to its low band gap, high light absorption, excellent electron–hole separation efficiency, preferred orientation growth, and unique morphology. The results of quenching and capture experiments showed that the contribution order of different active species in the photocatalytic process is: ·O₂⁻ > ·OH > h⁺. In addition, the photocatalytic activity of the WO₃-20 samples showed slight loses after four cycles, displaying high stability and good recycling performance.