Facile Synthesis and Photocatalytic Performance of W18O49 Nanorods
W18O49 nanorods photocatalyst was successfully synthesized by a facile pyrolyzing ammonium metatungstate in a reductive atmosphere of H2 (5 vol %)/Ar. The synthesized W18O49 nanorods were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectrum, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) absorption spectroscopy. The results show that W18O49 nanorods are about 190 nm in diameter and around 4.8 μm in length, and they possess the band-gap energy of 2.32 eV. Moreover the photocatalytic activity of W18O49 nanorods was evaluated by degrading methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. The result illustrates that the W18O49 nanorods have a photodegradation efficiency of 60% for MB under the irradiation of xenon lamp (250 W, λ > 420 nm) for 2 h.