Exposed specific (040) and (110) facets of BiVO4 modified with Bi2WO6 nanoparticles for enhanced photocatalytic performance

Herein, BVO with homojunction in the (040) and (110) facets modified by Bi2WO6 nanoparticles was prepared via a facile hydrothermal method. The structures, morphologies, and photoelectrochemical properties of the as-prepared samples were characterized and measured. The characterization results indicated that Bi2WO6 nanoparticles were approximately 5 nm in size and were exclusively dispersed on the surface of BiVO4. BiVO4/Bi2WO6 heterojunction materials exhibited much higher photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic activities than the pure BiVO4 and Bi2WO6. The enhanced performance was attributed to BiVO4 with a homojunction structure and the effective interfacial transfer of photogenerated electrons from BiVO4 to Bi2WO6. Moreover, a possible mechanism for the enhancement of visible light photoelectrochemical performance of the BiVO4/Bi2WO6 photocatalyst was proposed.