Enhanced activity of hydrothermal prepared Nd/Pr-codoped Bi2WO6 microspheres in photodegradation of Rhodamine B

Bi2WO6 has attracted much attention as a photocatalyst, but its photocatalytic activity still need be improved for future practical application. Herein, Nd/Pr-codoped Bi2WO6 was prepared by hydrothermal method. XRD and FESEM demonstrate that the sample is orthorhombic phase with flower-like microspheres. PL display that the recombination rate of photogenerated electrons and holes becomes lower. N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms indicate that the specific surface area is significantly enlarged. In addition, codoping can improve photocatalytic performance remarkably. The photodegradation percentage of RhB reaches up to about 95.7% after only 10 min of irradiation and about 99.9% after 20 min. The enhanced photocatalytic activity could be due to the largest specific surface area and the lowest recombination rate of photogenerated electrons and holes. Furthermore, after eight photodegradation cycles, there was no significant loss for the photocatalytic activity. Therefore, NPBWO can be used as an efficient and stable photocatalyst.