An all-in-one self-supporting Na-Bi2WO6 photocatalyst for portable air purifier: Laminar splitting boosts high efficacy in mineralizing toluene and disinfection

An air purifier that provides clean air will be popular if it is portable and capable of removing volatile organic chemicals and reducing exposure to bacteria. Herein, ultra-thin and dense Bi2WO6 nanoflakes grown on W meshes specialize in offering abundant oxygen vacancies due to Na+ driving laminar splitting. Under visible lights, the photogenerated carriers streaming along the ultrathin Bi2WO6 surface produce bountiful reactive oxygen species for mineralizing VOCs and sweeping bacteria. Enriched with •O2- and •OH, a 15cm*5cm Na-Bi2WO6 mesh can completely degrade 30 ppm toluene in 0.45 dm3 reactor in 1hour without producing any toxic intermediates like benzene, and its efficacy only decayed by 4% after a continuous 14-hour run. A cup-shaped air purifier was assembled with the Na-Bi2WO6 mesh, enabling the rapid elimination of 1 ppm toluene, 2 ppm formaldehyde, and bacteria within a 120 dm3 test space.