Synthesis of Tungsten Oxide Nanorods as Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalysts

Abstract

Non-stoichiometric tungsten oxide nanorods with length up to few microns and diameters of 5-20 nm were initially prepared using a simple solvothermal method. The as-synthesized tungsten oxide nanorods were found to exhibit excellent photocatalytic properties under visible light irradiation. The degradation ratio of the methyl orange solutions by the tungsten oxide nanorods was as high as 98% under irradiation for 2.5 h. The excellent visible-light-driven photocatalytic properties of the hydrothermally-prepared nanorods may be due to a combination of their unique structure, outstanding light adsorption feature and high specific surface area.