Thin film and noble metal loading effects on the photocatalytic reactivity of helium-plasma-induced nanostructured tungsten oxides

Helium-plasma irradiation induces nanostructure formation on metal surfaces. This study investigated the photocatalytic performance of tungsten (W) oxide nanostructures formed on a thin film and the loading effects of noble metals. Methylene blue (MB) degradation was performed, and the performance of different nanostructured samples formed on thin-film and sheet W with changing the oxidization temperatures was compared; the differences were discussed in terms of the oxidation degree and vacancies. Moreover, noble metals (Pt, Ag, Au) were loaded onto the nanostructured sample oxide by magnetron sputtering as cocatalysts. The MB degradation ability was significantly enhanced by Pt loading. The results showed that nanostructuring and Pt support by using dry processes are novel routes for fabricating highly active photocatalysts.