Hydrothermal-assisted microemulsion synthesis of FeWO4 nanorods and their superior visible-light- driven photocatalytic activity

•Rod-like FeWO4 photocatalysts were prepared by adjusting experimental parameters.•The FeWO4 nanorods material exhibited superior visible light photocatalytic activity.•The synergistic effect of Fenton reaction and photocatalysis was significant.•Photogenerated electrons captured by Fe3+ was important in synergistic reaction. For the first time, uniform monodispersed FeWO4 nanorods were developed by a hydrothermal-assisted reverse microemulsion method. The effects of synthesis conditions such as the molar ratio (w) between water to surfactant, reactant concentrations (C), raw materials on FeWO4 morphology and particles size were investigated. The results indicated that rod-like FeWO4 with different sizes can be obtained by tuning the w values and reaction concentration. Photocatalytic experiment shows that due to the relatively narrow band gap 2.35 eV, FeWO4 nanorods exhibits significant visible-light-driven activity for the degradation of MB dye. Cycle experiment and magnetic test show that this novel visible-driven photocatalyst may have a potential application in the water treatment due to its high performance and easy recycle.