Effect of acetic acid on morphology of Bi2WO6 with enhanced photocatalytic activity

Hierarchical bismuth tungstate (Bi2WO6) with various morphologies was successfully prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. The hierarchical Bi2WO6 are all assembled from nanosheets. However, with increase of acetic acid the morphology of Bi2WO6 transformed regularly according to the following order: clew-like, clew-like and flower-like, flower-like, dish-like with crisscross, dish-like with incomplete crisscross, and dish-like ones. Therefore, the effect of acetic acid on the morphology transformation of the Bi2WO6 was investigated and a plausible formation mechanism was proposed. Owing to the larger specific surface area and pore diameter, the clew-like Bi2WO6 exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity for the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB). Furthermore, the possible mechanism of photocatalytic degradation was discussed.