Photocatalytic degradation and hydrogen evolution using bismuth tungstate based nanocomposites under visible light irradiation

In this work, Bi2WO6/PANI composites were synthesized for efficient removal of ciprofloxacin (CIP) from urban wastewater and production of hydrogen energy in the absence of sacrificial agents. The experimental study visualizes the formation of 2D based nanostructures and perceived that these nanostructures could provide more photocatalytic active-sites for removal of CIP and also increase the oxidation/reduction of water for hydrogen energy production. The PXRD showed excellent crystallinity/orthorhombic structure with crystallite size 10–23 nm. The Bi2WO6/PANI composites, compared to Bi2WO6, exhibited higher efficiency and stability for degradation of CIP and production of hydrogen energy. CIP was effectively degraded 98% by Bi2WO6/PANI (5%) and the effect of different parameters such as pH, catalyst-concentration, and effect of CIP-concentration was also analyzed. The hydrogen energy rate was 490.56 h−1g−1 by using Bi2WO6/PANI (5%). The improved photocatalytic performance of Bi2WO6/PANI composite was mainly ascribed to the unique hierarchical structures, harvesting extended absorption of visible light, higher surface area, and higher crystallinity. The current findings may provide new insights to fabricate nanomaterials for environmental and energy issues.