AgBi(WO4)2 : A New Modification Material to Bi2 WO6 for Enhanced and Stable Visible-Light Photocatalyic Performance

In this work, we report a novel AgBi(WO4 )2 -Bi2 WO6 heterostructure, which was designed and synthesized by using a simple hydrothermal method. Methyl orange was used as a representative dye indicator to evaluate the visible-light catalytic activity and the catalytic mechanism was investigated. The as-synthesized AgBi(WO4 )2 -Bi2 WO6 composite displayed a 43 times higher photocatalytic activity than Bi2 WO6 . Owing to the matched band gap and distinctive heterostructure, AgBi(WO4 )2 -Bi2 WO6 reveals a high visible-light response and high-efficiency utilization of both photogenerated electrons and holes. AgBi(WO4 )2 reveals a similar energy level to and good lattice match with Bi2 WO6 , which are favorable qualities for band bending and fluent electron transfer. Furthermore, the photoexcited electrons can produce oxygen to generate (.) O2 (-) radicals, which is vital for the overall utilization of both holes and electrons. This is the first example of AgBi(WO4 )2 being used as photocatalytic material.