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Formation of Bi 2 WO 6 Bipyramids with Vacancy Pairs for Enhanced Solar‐Driven Photoactivity
Author(s) -
Zhang Gong,
Hu Ziyu,
Sun Meng,
Liu Yang,
Liu Limin,
Liu Huijuan,
Huang ChinPao,
Qu Jiuhui,
Li Jinghong
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201501009
Subject(s) - materials science , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , vacancy defect , band gap , irradiation , excited state , spectral line , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , chemical engineering , crystallography , atomic physics , chemistry , physics , astronomy , nuclear physics , engineering
In order to improve the photoactivity, many attempts have focused on increasing the exposure of highly reactive surfaces on crystals. However, the connection between the reactive surfaces and enhancement is still elusive. Herein, Bi 2 WO 6 nanostructured bipyramids with a large fraction of {100} facets are fabricated by the solvothermal method. The formation of “Bi–O” dimer vacancy pairs on the {100} high‐energy facets is responsible for the reduction in band gap and the decrease in the recombination of photo‐excited charge carriers, which is unambiguously confirmed by the positron annihilation spectra (PAS), X‐ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS), and theoretical calculations. The effective separation of electron–hole pairs and the narrowing bandgap significantly improve the photoactivity of Bi 2 WO 6 nanobipyramids, especially under solar light irradiation. These findings can be applied broadly to the design and fabrication of energy efficient and robust catalysts.