A Novel Mesoporous Single-Crystal-Like Bi₂WO₆ with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity for Pollutants Degradation and Oxygen Production

Abstract

The porous single-crystal-like micro/nanomaterials exhibited splendid intrinsic performance in photocatalysts, dye-sensitized solar cells, gas sensors, lithium cells, and many other application fields. Here, a novel mesoporous single-crystal-like Bi2WO6 tetragonal architecture was first achieved in the mixed molten salt system. Its crystal construction mechanism originated from the oriented attachment of nanosheet units accompanied by Ostwald ripening process. Additionally, the synergistic effect of mixed alkali metal nitrates and electrostatic attraction caused by internal electric field in crystal played a pivotal role in oriented attachment process of nanosheet units. The obtained sample displayed superior photocatalytic activity of both organic dye degradation and O2 evolution from water under visible light. We gained an insight into this unique architecture's impact on the physical properties, light absorption, photoelectricity, and luminescent decay, etc., that significantly influenced photocatalytic activity.