posted on 2022-07-14, 06:43authored byShomaila Khanam, Sanjeeb Kumar Rout
A plasmonic Ag/Bi2WO6 heterostructure,
having
Ag NPs deposited on Bi2WO6, is obtained by a
hydrothermal and photodeposition method. The synthesized Ag/Bi2WO6 composite exhibits strong visible light absorption
with a localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and shows an enhanced
photoabsorption property. It is demonstrated that such a Ag/Bi2WO6 heterostructure shows excellent plasmon-enhanced
photocatalytic activity in the dehydrogenation of ammonia borane (NH3BH3) solution under visible light irradiation,
which is due to the results from the synergetic effect between Ag
NPs and emerging W5+ ions. More importantly, the performance
of a Ag/Bi2WO6 hybrid is almost eight times
higher than that of sole Bi2WO6 nanosheets.
The introduction of LSPR of Ag in Bi2WO6 improves
the electrical conductivity of the composite and lowers the recombination
rate of charge carriers. This study opens up the opportunity of rationally
fabricating plasmonic metal/semiconductor heterostructures for highly
efficient photocatalysis.