Synthesis and Characterization of Ta-Doped WO3 Nanomaterials for Their Application as an Efficient Photocatalyst

For the degradation of MB dye, pure and Ta-doped (1 to 5%) WO3 nanoparticles (NPs) have been synthesized in the current work. Facile and efficient hydrothermal method has been carried out to synthesize pure and Ta-doped WO3 NPs. By using SEM, XRD, UV-Vis, PL, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy analysis, the morphological, structural, optical, and spectral features have been addressed. Due to the well-matched ionic radius of Ta+5 with WO3, it plays a crucial part in lowering the rate at which photogenerated electron/hole pairs recombine, resulting in band gap reductions of up to 2.12 and 1.9 eV for direct and indirect transitions, respectively. It is worth mentioning that two distinct WO3 phases monoclinic and hexagonal have been examined in XRD and Raman analysis for 4 and 5 wt% Ta concentrations. The photocatalytic activity of fabricated NPs was examined by irradiation of visible light on MB dye. Due to the smaller size of NPs, the surface-to-volume ratio would be high which introduces more active adsorption sites thus enhancing the photocatalytic activity of the catalyst. Quite interestingly, 3% Ta-doped WO3 catalyst exhibits optimal results owing to maximal degradation of 91% in 120 min ascribed to the Burstein-Moss Effect. Recyclability and trapping experiments have been performed to check the stability of the optimized catalyst. The remarkable photocatalytic activity of a 3% Ta-doped catalyst demonstrates its potential uses in the treatment of wastewater. [GRAPHICS] .