In-situ construction of Bi2WO6/BiOCl p-n heterojunction film for photocatalytic CO2 reduction

Heterojunction composite construction has been considered as a viable method to improve photocatalytic performance. In this study, a kind of highly efficient 2D/0D Bi2WO6/BiOCl p-n heterojunction film with boosted photocatalytic CO2 reduction performance was synthesized on Bi plate via in-situ electrochemical ion-exchange hydrothermal method. Furthermore, the XRD, XPS, SEM, TEM and other techniques were carried out to evaluate as-synthesized films. Our findings indicate that Bi2WO6/BiOCl composite film, with close border contact between Bi2WO6 and BiOCl surfaces, should be conducive to achieve excellent separation and migration of photogenerated charge carriers. Finally, the formation mechanism of p-n heterostructure is demonstrated using XPS core-level alignment method. This work should offer new perspectives into the immobilization method of efficient powder catalysts and the photocatalytic CO2 reduction mechanism of p-n heterojunction films.