The synergistic effect between WO3 and g-C3N4 towards efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic performance

We have developed a facile, scaled up, efficient and morphology-based novel WO3-g-C3N4 photocatalyst with different mass ratios of WO3 and g-C3N4. It was used for the photodegradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation and it showed excellent enhanced photocatalytic efficiency as compared to pure g-C3N4 and WO3. The apparent performance of the composite/hybrid was 3.65 times greater than pure WO3 and 3.72 times greater than pure g-C3N4 respectively, and it was also found to be much higher than the previously reported ones. Furthermore, the optical properties of composite samples were evaluated. The bandgap of composite samples lies in the range of 2.3-2.5 eV, which was favourable for photodegradation. The possible mechanism for enhanced catalytic efficiency of the WO3-g-C3N4 photocatalyst is discussed in detail. It was found that the enhanced performance is due to the synergistic effect between the WO3 and g-C3N4 interface, improved optical absorption in the visible region and suitable band positions of WO3-g-C3N4 composites.