Effects of Hydrothermal Treatment Duration on Morphology of WO3 Nanostructures

Tungsten trioxide (WO3) nanostructures have been synthesized by a simple wet chemical hydrothermal method at a temperature of 120 degrees C using sodium tungstate (Na2WO4 center dot 2H(2)O) as precursor material. In order to study the growth mechanism of WO3 nanostructures, the time of hydrothermal treatment was varied between 1 and 48 h. The morphology and structure of the synthesized WO3 samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques. The duration of hydrothermal treatment significantly affected the nanostructure morphology evolution due to the limited concentration of a directional capping NaCl agent during synthesis of WO3 crystals.