Structural and spectroscopic comparison between polycrystalline, nanocrystalline and quantum dot visible light photo-catalyst Bi 2 WO 6

The structural and spectroscopic features of the visible light photocatalyst Bi2WO6 have been studied. Polycrystalline (PC), nanocrystalline (NC) and quantum dot (QD) sized samples were produced using solid state reaction, hydrothermal and flame spray pyrolysis methods, respectively. While the crystal structures of PC and NC Bi2WO6 are well characterized using X-ray powder diffraction data Rietveld refinements, the structural information of the QD are obtained from the complementary pair distribution function analysis and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The Raman spectra of the samples are compared with the phonon density of states calculated by DFT. A continuous phenomenological model describes selective optical phonon confinement into the QDs. The type of the electronic bandgaps obtained from the UV-VIS absorbance-spectra have been analyzed using two different methods, and compared with those calculated from the electronic band structures.