Rapid adsorption and simultaneous photocatalytic effect of Ru doped flower like antimony tungstate

Abstract Ruthenium (Ru) doped antimony tungstate microflowers, prepared through hydrothermal process, have been investigated for simultaneous adsorption and photocatalysis. The pattern of evolution of microflower structures, however, can be tailored by the synthesis period. This change is observed from the field effect scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope images. A possible mechanism behind this morphological change has been developed. An argument based on the zeta potential may be responsible for this distinct morphology due to the strong electrostatic interactions. The variation of a particular x-ray diffraction peak corresponding to the plane { 012 } with variation of Ru doping percentage shows the decrease in crystallinity along the perpendicular direction to this plane. Besides, the optimum Ru doping percentage is evaluated on the basis of photocatalytic efficiency towards methylene blue (MB) degradation under visible light. The highest dye removal efficiency is observed for 2% Ru doped Sb 2 WO 6 (SWO) adsorbing 97% of the MB dye followed by photocatalytic degradation of almost 64% of the remaining dye in 80 min. Furthermore, using different dyes, it is concluded that Ru–SWO showcases high adsorption toward the cationic dyes while it neither adsorbs the anionic dye nor displays photocatalytic degradation.