Enhanced photocatalytic activity of α-Fe2O3/Bi2WO6 heterostructured nanofibers prepared by electrospinning technique

Abstract

One-dimensional α-Fe₂O₃/Bi₂WO₆ heterostructured nanofibers with the diameter of about 300–500 nm were successfully prepared by using a simple and straightforward protocol combining an electrospinning technique with a sintering process. The as-obtained products were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, FT-IR, XPS, BET and UV-vis spectroscopy. It was found that the construction of α-Fe₂O₃/Bi₂WO₆ heterostructures can effectively impede the recombination of photoelectrons and holes and α-Fe₂O₃/Bi₂WO₆ heterostructured nanofibers possess a superior photocatalytic activity compared to pure Bi₂WO₆ nanofibers for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye driven by visible light.