Multifunctional ZnWO4 nanoparticles for photocatalytic removal of pollutants and disinfection of bacteria

Herein, ZnWO 4 nanoparticles (NP S ) with controllable size were synthesized by a facile solvothermal method via changing EG concentration in the solvent. The physicochemical properties of ZnWO 4 NP S were characterized by XRD, TEM, EDS, BET, XPS, UV–vis DRS, PL and photocurrent. The results shown that the EG concentration has a great influence on the morphology, size and crystallinity of ZnWO 4 NP S . On the one hand, the photocatalytic activity of ZnWO 4 -EG62.5 was obviously better than that of ZnWO 4 -EG0 in the removal of hazardous pollutants including Cr 6+ , MB, RhB and MO by 71.4, 33.3, 13.5 and 21.3 %, respectively. Moreover, ZnWO 4 -EG62.5 displayed excellent photocatalytic stability for Cr 6+ reduction. The ZnWO 4 -EG75, on the other hand, exhibited the best antibacterial activity to Bacillus subtilis and Vibrio alginolyticus , and the maximal inhibition zone area of Bacillus subtilis and Vibrio alginolyticus over ZnWO 4 -EG75 was 3.4 and 6.8 times than that of ZnWO 4 -EG0, respectively. Our work indicated that ZnWO 4 NP S presented potential future application in water treatment and marine antifouling, and it is a feasible approach to enhance the photocatalytic and antibacterial performance of semiconductor NPs by controlling its size and crystallinity.