Recent advancements in photocatalytic hydrogen production have highlighted the exceptional potential of Bi2WO6/MXene composites, owing to their synergistic properties. Bi2WO6, a visible-light-responsive photocatalyst, exhibits a bandgap of ~2.7 eV, enabling efficient light absorption in the solar spectrum. However, its rapid charge recombination limits its efficiency. MXene, a 2D transition metal carbide/nitride, with its high electrical conductivity (~10^4 S/cm) and abundant surface functional groups, acts as an excellent co-catalyst. When combined, the Bi2WO6/MXene composite demonstrates a 3.5-fold increase in hydrogen evolution rate (HER) compared to pristine Bi2WO6, achieving 12.8 mmol/g/h under simulated solar irradiation (AM 1.5G). This enhancement is attributed to MXene's role in facilitating electron transfer and suppressing charge recombination.
The interfacial engineering between Bi2WO6 and MXene plays a critical role in optimizing photocatalytic performance. Advanced characterization techniques such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveal strong chemical bonding at the interface, evidenced by shifts in binding energy (e.g., W 4f peak shift by ~0.3 eV). This interfacial interaction enhances charge separation efficiency, as confirmed by photoluminescence (PL) quenching experiments showing a 78% reduction in PL intensity for the composite compared to Bi2WO6 alone. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations further support these findings, indicating a reduced energy barrier for hydrogen adsorption on the composite surface (-0.15 eV vs. -0.45 eV for pristine Bi2WO6), which significantly accelerates the HER kinetics.
The role of MXene's surface functional groups (-OH, -F) in modulating photocatalytic activity has been systematically investigated. Controlled experiments demonstrate that partially oxidized MXene (with reduced -F groups) enhances HER by 42% compared to fully fluorinated MXene due to improved hydrophilicity and proton adsorption capacity. The optimized composite achieves an apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of 8.7% at 420 nm, surpassing most reported Bi-based photocatalysts. Additionally, the composite exhibits excellent stability over 50 cycles with negligible degradation (<5%), attributed to MXene's robust mechanical properties and resistance to photocorrosion.
Scalability and practical application potential of Bi2WO6/MXene composites have been evaluated through pilot-scale reactor studies under natural sunlight conditions. A large-scale reactor (1 m^2 active area) achieved a sustained HER of 10.2 mmol/g/h over 100 hours of continuous operation, demonstrating the feasibility of industrial deployment. Life cycle assessment (LCA) reveals that the composite-based system reduces energy consumption by 35% compared to conventional Pt-based photocatalysts while maintaining competitive HER performance.
Future research directions focus on further enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of Bi2WO6/MXene composites through doping strategies and hybrid architectures. Recent studies show that co-doping with rare earth elements (e.g., La^3+) and integrating with carbon quantum dots can boost HER up to 15.3 mmol/g/h while extending light absorption into the near-infrared region (>800 nm). These innovations position Bi2WO6/MXene composites as a leading candidate for next-generation photocatalytic hydrogen production systems.
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