The Effect of Different Morphologies of WO 3 /GO Nanocomposite on Photocatalytic Performance.

Tungsten trioxide/graphene oxide (WO 3 /GO) nanocomposites have been successfully synthesized using in situ and ex situ chemical approaches. Graphite and tungsten carbide (WC) were employed to perform in situ synthesis, and WO 3 and GO were employed to perform the ex situ synthesis of WO 3 /GO nanocomposites. GO, which was required for ex situ synthesis, is synthesized via the modified and improved Hummers method. XRD, SEM/EDS, and FTIR are used for the characterization of the nanocomposite. From the XRD of the WO 3 /GO nanocomposites, it was observed that WO 3 distributed uniformly on graphene oxide sheets or was incorporated between the sheets. The photocatalytic activities of WO 3 /GO nanocomposites were evaluated by methylene blue (MB) adsorption and visible light photocatalytic degradation activities by UV-vis spectroscopy. The results showed that the efficiency of the photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposite depends on different synthesis methods and the morphology resulting from the changed method. WO 3 /GO nanocomposites synthesized by both methods exhibited much higher photocatalytic efficiencies than pure WO 3 , and the best degradation efficiencies for MB was 96.30% for the WO 3 /GO in situ synthesis nanocomposite.