文摘
A low-cost semiconductor-based photocatalyst using visible light energy has attracted increasing interest for energy generation and environmental remediation. Herein, plasmonic Bi metal was deposited in situ in g-C<sub>3sub>N<sub>4sub>@Bi<sub>2sub>WO<sub>6sub> microspheres via a hydrothermal method. As an electron-conduction bridge, metallic Bi was inserted as the interlayer between g-C<sub>3sub>N<sub>4sub> and the surface of Bi<sub>2sub>WO<sub>6sub> microspheres to enhance visible light absorption due to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect and facilitate efficient electron-carrier separation. Different characterization techniques, including XRD, SEM, TEM, UV–vis, XPS, photoluminescence, and photocurrent generation, were employed to investigate the morphology and optical properties of the as-prepared samples. The results indicated that the g-C<sub>3sub>N<sub>4sub>(20%)@Bi@Bi<sub>2sub>WO<sub>6sub> microsphere sample exhibited an extraordinary enhanced photocatalytic activity, higher than those of the g-C<sub>3sub>N<sub>4sub>, Bi<sub>2sub>WO<sub>6sub>, and g-C<sub>3sub>N<sub>4sub>(20%)@Bi<sub>2sub>WO<sub>6sub> samples. It implies that the heterostructured combination of g-C<sub>3sub>N<sub>4sub>, metallic Bi, and Bi<sub>2sub>WO<sub>6sub> microspheres provided synergistic photocatalytic activity via an efficient electron transfer process. On the basis of the results, a possible photocatalytic mechanism of the as-prepared samples was proposed. The present study demonstrated the feasibility of utilizing low-cost metallic Bi as a substitute for noble metals to design a doped photocatalysis composite with enhanced photocatalytic performance.