Dual 2D heterojunction of V2C/Bi2WO6 hierarchical structures with enhanced visible light-driven photocatalytic performance for pollutant removal

The photocatalytic technology for treating various industrial wastes is extremely effective nowadays, but single-phase catalysts had many limitations such as narrow photoresponse range and high carrier recombination rate in practical application. Using V2C MXenes material as a co-catalyst, a series of V2C/Bi2WO6 flower-like complexes with dual 2D structures were obtained through facile hydrothermal method, in which Bi2WO6 was in situ grown on the surface of V2C. Compared with pure Bi2WO6, the prepared composite catalysts exhibited enhanced response in the visible light range and improved degradation rates, which were up to 0.0713 min−1 (4.55-fold enhancement) and 0.00965 min−1 (9.37-fold enhancement) for the degradation of MB and phenol, respectively. V2C helped to increase the photocurrent response, thus improving the photogenerated carrier separation and transport performance; meanwhile the good photothermal conversion characteristics of V2C also helped to utilize the infrared wavelength light for heat conversion, which made the prepared hybrids exhibit good cycling stability and environmental adaptability. This work expanded the application of V2C MXene materials in photocatalysis by constructing V2C/Bi2WO6 heterojunctions with unique morphology, excellent electrochemical and photothermal conversion properties, aiming to provide a new idea for the efficient treatment of complex industrial pollutants.