Plasmonic-Enhanced Near-Infrared Photocatalytic Activity of F-Doped (NH4)0.33WO3 Nanorods

To achieve efficient utilization of solar power for environmental remediation, search for suitable materials as efficient solar light driven photocatalysts is one of the most challenging missions. In this work, F-doped (NH4)(0.33)WO3 was first synthesized as a novel near-infrared (NIR) photocatalyst with enhanced photocatalytic activity. Compared to that of pure ammonium tungsten bronze, a blue shift of the NIR plasmon band and an enhanced NIR absorbance of F-doped (NH4)(0.33)WO3 could be observed. 83% of rhodamine B (RhB) was degraded by F-doped (NH4)(0.33)WO3 under NIR irradiation within 180 min. The NIR photodegradation rate of the optimal F-doped (NH4)(0.33)WO3 for RhB was 0.0102 min(-1), about 8.5 times as high as that of (NH4)(0.33)WO3. The enhanced NIR photocatalytic performance of F-doped (NH4)(0.33)WO3 can be attributed to the remarkable enhanced generation and separation of NIR localized surface plasmon resonance induced electron-hole pairs. Moreover, the F-doped (NH4)(0.33)WO3 nanorods could also degrade 36% of RhB and 93% of RhB when exposed to the UV light and visible light, respectively. This work develops a promising photocatalyst with a full solar light response for future cleanup of environmental pollutants.