Facile synthesis of novel AgSCN/Bi2WO6 heterojunction composite as a highly efficient photocatalyst for H2 production under visible-light irradiation

To solve the problems of fuel shortage and environmental pollution, in this paper, a novel AgSCN/Bi2WO6 heterojunction composite was successfully synthesized through a one-pot chemical precipitation method. The photocatalytic performance of the composite was effectively improved as the formation of desired heterojunction structure between the AgSCN and Bi2WO6. Among these, the 50%AgSCN/Bi2WO6 composite achieved the highest photocatalytic H2 production, which was 9.5 and 6.9 times higher than that of the pristine AgSCN and Bi2WO6. The optical and electrochemical characterization results demonstrated that the recombination rate of the charge carriers electron-hole pairs in Bi2WO6 was reduce as the AgSCN was introduced to establish the heterojunction. In addition, possible mechanisms for the excellent photocatalytic performance of AgSCN/Bi2WO6 composites are discussed. This study provides directions for the shell-layer Bi2WO6 heterojunction photocatalysts for efficient photocatalytic H2 production.