Enhanced Visible Light Photocatalytic Activity of Flower-Like Bi2WO6 Loaded with MnO x.

Bi₂WO₆ was modified with MnO _x via a photodeposition method. Multiple techniques including XRD, SEM, TEM, UV-vis and XPS were applied to investigate the structures, morphologies and optical characteristics of the as-prepared sample. The nanostructured composites were formed with MnO _x loaded on the surface of flower-like Bi₂WO₆, where MnO _x exists as a mixed-valence manganese of Mn³⁺ and Mn⁴⁺ as verified by XPS. The photocatalytic activity of the MnO _x/ Bi₂WO₆ composites was evaluated by using rhodamine B ( RhB) as a target organic pollutant under visible light irradiation. The as-prepared MnO _x/ Bi₂WO₆ composites exhibited much higher photocatalytic activities than pure Bi₂WO₆. The enhanced activities were attributed to the interfacial transfer of photogenerated holes from Bi₂WO₆ to MnO _x, leading to effective way to improve photocatalytic efficiency, which may be extended to a strategy for other semiconductor. Based on the experimental results, a possible mechanism of MnO _x for the enhancement of visible light performance was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]