Preparation, characterization and photocatalytic activity of juglans-like indium oxide (In2O3) nanospheres

•In2O3 nanospheres were synthesized by hydrothermal method and post-thermal treatment.•Juglans-like In2O3 nanospheres were successfully synthesized.•The morphologies and structures were characterized by EDS, SEM and X-ray diffraction.•The photocatalytic activities were appraised by photocatalytic degradation of Rh B.•The juglans-like In2O3 nanospheres have a much better photocatalytic activity. Juglans-like In2O3 nanospheres were successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method and the post-thermal treatment. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that the as-synthesized In2O3 nanospheres had body-centered cubic structure. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed In2O3 nanospheres under different experimental conditions. It was observed that both ethylene glycol and ethylenediamine played roles in the synthesis of juglans-like In2O3 nanospheres. The photocatalytic activity of the In2O3 nanospheres was appraised by photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (Rh B) aqueous solution under visible light. The photocatalytic results showed that compared with other samples (sample 1, 2 and 3) in the paper, the juglans-like In2O3 nanospheres (sample 4) exhibited a better photocatalytic activity.