Synthesis of hollow spherical WO3 powder by spray solution combustion and its photocatalytic properties

Hollow spherical WO3 powder was prepared from mixed solution of ammonium metatungstate, glycine and ammonium nitrate by spray solution combustion synthesis (SSCS) method. The effects of fuel ratio, temperature, precursor solution concentration on the structure and morphology of as-prepared powder, and the SSCS mechanism have been discussed in detail. When precursor solution concentration is 0.10 mol/L, in which the fuel ratio is 2, and reaction temperature set to be 800 °C, the spherical WO3 powder with smooth surface and a median diameter of 24.02 μm can be obtained, which consists of particles with a diameter of about 30 nm, and the specific surface area is 13.5 m2/g. Moreover, the as-synthesized WO3 powder is applied to degrade RhB solution in visible light to evaluate its catalytic performance by PLS-SXE300/300UV. Only 10 mg powder can degrade 70.1% RhB solution within 2 h.