Direct Generation of Fine Bi₂WO₆ Nanocrystals on g‐C₃N₄ Nanosheets for Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract Graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C₃N₄) coupled with Bi₂WO₆ is a promising Type II heterojunction, but it is still difficult to obtain uniform nanocomposites of these materials with the present assembly methods. Here we employ g‐C₃N₄ nanosheets saturated with Bi³⁺ ions to provide numerous and widespread nucleation sites for the growth of Bi₂WO₆ nanocrystals. As a result, g‐C₃N₄ nanosheets loaded with fine and controllable amount of Bi₂WO₆ nanocrystals are produced. The g‐C₃N₄/Bi₂WO₆ nanocomposites exhibit significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity for RhB degradation under visible‐light irradiation. Particularly, the g‐C₃N₄/70 % Bi₂WO₆ nanocomposite achieves the highest photocatalytic activity, and the average rate constant is almost 5 and 9 times higher than those of bare g‐C₃N₄ and Bi₂WO₆, respectively. Moreover, the composite exhibits high photocatalytic stability in cycling tests.