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Updated: May 25, 2026

Probe Type II Band Alignment in One-Dimensional Van Der Waals Heterostructures Using First-Principles Calculations
Published on: October 12, 2019
Investigation of band offsets of interface BiOCl:Bi2WO6: a first-principles study
Weichao Wang1, Wenjuan Yang, Rong Chen
1State Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die and Mould Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Density functional theory calculations are performed to study the band offsets at the interface of two photocatalytic materials BiOCl:Bi(2)WO(6). It is found that the W-O bonded interface shows the most stability. An intrinsic interface fails to enhance the charge-carrier separation due to the improper band alignment between these two materials. Sulfur (S) is proposed to replace the bulk oxygen (O) site and thus tune the band edges of BiOCl to enhance the photocatalytic performance of the heterojunction. Furthermore, the presence of S provides an extra charge to generate a clean interface with minimal gap states that also benefits carrier migration across the heterojunction.
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