Preferential photo-carrier exchange in (010) facet of BiVO4 with decorated CdS nanoparticles

Crystal facet plays an important role in charge exchange in the crystal interface due to different surface energy and electronic structures in different crystal facets. It is expected to improve the photo-carrier collection efficiency in photocatalysis by tailoring the crystal facets of photocatalysts. In this work, BiVO4 nanosheets with the preferential (010) facet exposed and decorated with CdS nanoparticles were investigated as a model. Our results show that the preferential (010) facet exposed BiVO4 nanosheets have favorable photocatalytic performance for CO2 reduction compared with random facet distributed polycrystalline BiVO4 in the same situation after combining with CdS nanoparticles. It is attributed to the specific exposure of the (010) facet of BiVO4 facilitating Z-schemed photo-carrier transfer in composites remarkably. An in-depth investigation of the surface photo-carrier migration by photoconductive atomic force microscopy revealed that photo-electrons of BiVO4 tend to accumulate in the (010) facet due to the lower surface potential energy and, therefore, facilitate the transfer to CdS. This work offers a feasible strategy to further improve the activity of composite photocatalysts by controlling the specific facet exposure. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.

Automated summary

This study demonstrated that the preferential (010) facet exposed BiVO4 nanosheets exhibit enhanced photocatalytic performance for CO2 reduction when combined with CdS nanoparticles, compared to polycrystalline BiVO4 with random facet distribution. The specific exposure of the (010) facet of BiVO4 facilitated Z-schemed photo-carrier transfer in composites, offering a feasible strategy to improve the activity of composite photocatalysts by controlling specific facet exposure.