Photocatalytic application of helium plasma induced nanostructured tungsten oxides

Abstract

In this study, two photosensitive nanostructured photocatalysts (i.e. a nanostructured W sheet (WNano) and a nanostructured W thin film (WNTF), respectively) were fabricated by helium plasma irradiation. In addition, the photocatalytic activity was examined for the degradation of methylene blue under visible light irradiation. The result revealed that the highest photocatalytic activity is observed for WNano subjected to calcination at 573 K. The difference in the photocatalytic activities between WNano and WNTF was possibly caused by the difference in the surface area and the presence of a W/WO3 interface. Among the series of the WNano photocatalysts subjected to calcination at different temperatures, the localized surface plasmon resonance of nanostructured W was likely responsible for photocatalysis.