Preparation, characterization, and photocatalytic study of solvothermally grown CTAB-capped Bi2WO6 photocatalyst toward photodegradation of Rhodamine B dye

Fabrication of CTAB capped Bi2WO6 photocatalyst via a solvothermal route has been reported. The addition of surfactant remarkably affects the morphology and the photoactivity of the photocatalyst. The 0.20CTAB-Bi2WO6 photocatalyst, with flower-like morphology and low charge carrier recombination rate, provides 100% removal of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye. The promising performance is attributed to the well dispersion of the surfactant capping agent on the surface of the resultant photocatalyst. The hydrocarbon from the non-polar tail of CTAB can promote the adsorption of the RhB dye and finally end up with the improvement of photocatalytic performance of the CTAB-capped photocatalyst. The prepared 0.20CTAB-Bi2WO6 photocatalyst also exhibits high efficiency with good chemical stability after five cycles of use implying its great potential of reusability. This research demonstrates an important role of the CTAB surfactant in controlling of morphology and photoactivity of the Bi2WO6 photocatalyst for detoxification of cationic dye in wastewater. The real scale removal of the organic pollutants can be further carried out by utilization of the economical solar energy comprising 43% of visible light.