Synthesis Of Titanium And Tungsten Based Semiconductors By Electrospinning And Their Application
In The Photocatalytic Degradation Of An Aqueous Solution Of Methyl Orange Dye

Soares Luana¹*, Kunst Sandra², Oliveira Cláudia¹, Alves Annelise³

¹Feevale University, Laboratório de Estudos Avançados em Materiais, ERS-239,
2755/Novo Hamburgo, RS, CEP 93525-075, (BRASIL)
²Projeto de Fixação de Recursos Humanos do CNPq, Nível A (RHAE), CNPq, Sapucaia do Sul, RS, (BRASIL)
³Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, LACER, Laboratório de Materiais Cerâmicos,
Avenida Osvaldo Aranha, 99 room 709, (BRASIL)

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ABSTRACT – DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47204/EMSR.5.1.2023.061-070

TiO₂ is the most used semiconductor in photocatalytic tests, due to its unique properties, such as: non-toxicity, stability in a wide range of pH, etc. However, the fact that its photocatalytic properties are only activated in just 5% of the UV-vis spectrum limits its application in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Aiming to increase its sunlight capture range, several studies have already been developed. One alternative is doping with other semiconductor metals, such as tungsten trioxide. Tungsten trioxide is among the most studied transition metals today, as it has a desirable band gap, between 2.6-2.8 eV, which increases the radiation absorption capacity of this oxide in the visible region. It is an n-type semiconductor, which has several polymorphic forms, which are: triclinic, monoclinic, hexagonal, orthorhombic and tetragonal. Some of its applications include: photocatalytic processes, gas sensors, electrochromic devices, solar cells, among others. Can be applied in powder or immobilized. Researchers suggest numerous methods for the synthesis of WO₃, where the most used are: chemical vapor deposition, sol-gel, electrospinning, sputtering, electron beam and thermal evaporation. Electrospinning is a versatile and viable technique to generate ultrafine fibers/nanofibers. Notable progress has been made with regard to the development of technologies for the synthesis of these samples, such as the engineering of electrospun nanofibers to meet or allow their use in the most diverse applications. Within this context, our work intends to provide a comprehensive view of the use of the electrospinning technique for the generation of TiO₂, TiO₂/WO₃ and WO₃ nanostructures, to be applied as semiconductors in heterogeneous photocatalysis tests.