Engineering Ag-Bi₂O₃/WO₃ nanocomposites with porous morphology for photocatalytic enhancement

Abstract

We successfully synthesized Ag-Bi2O3/WO3 composites with a porous sheet morphology using chemical bath deposition and sputtering methods. Structural and compositional analyses indicate that varying the sputtering time of silver (Ag) nanoparticles results in their successful decoration onto the Bi2O3/WO3 composites. The Ag-Bi2O3/WO3 composites demonstrated superior electrical and photocatalytic properties compared to both the Bi2O3/WO3 composite and the WO3 underlayer film. This can be attributed to the Schottky barrier and photo-induced S-scheme charge transfer mechanism in the Ag-Bi2O3/WO3 composites. The bending of the energy bands at the Bi2O3/WO3 composites interface makes Bi2O3/WO3 composites a S-scheme charge transfer mechanism under irradiation. This successfully and effectively retains photo-generated carriers with a strong redox ability for photodegradation towards organic dye. Furthermore, Ag nanoparticles promote the visible light absorption ability and transfer of photo-generated electrons in the Ag-Bi2O3/WO3 composite system, further improving the photoactive performance. The current research provides the design of metal particle-decorated porous composites for photocatalytic applications.